South Korea's Unification Ministry said on Friday it had no knowledge of any formal protest from the United States or any curtailment of intelligence sharing after reports that Washington was unhappy about the disclosure of a previously unconfirmed North Korean nuclear site.
The ministry said it had informed the U.S. side that Minister Chung Dong-young’s public remarks about a North Korean facility in Kusong were based on publicly available material, including international research reports. Officials said they understood that the U.S. had accepted that explanation.
A report in the Dong-A Ilbo cited sources in both South Korea and the United States, saying Washington had expressed displeasure to Seoul after Chung told lawmakers on March 6 that North Korea was operating a uranium enrichment site in Kusong in addition to the more widely known facilities at Yongbyon and Kangson. The newspaper also reported that the United States had signaled it would partially restrict the transfer of North Korea-related intelligence to South Korea, and framed Chung’s public remarks as the proximate trigger amid broader accumulated U.S. frustration over a range of bilateral foreign and security disagreements.
At a press briefing, a ministry spokesperson said the ministry had "sufficiently explained the background" behind Chung’s comments following an inquiry from the U.S. embassy in Seoul, and that it understood "the U.S. side had accepted" the explanation. The spokesperson added the ministry was not aware of any protest or measures by the United States to limit intelligence sharing.
In separate remarks to Reuters, ministry officials said that even if there had been any U.S. actions, they did not believe such measures would be directly attributable to the minister’s statements.
The U.S. embassy in Seoul did not immediately provide a comment when asked.
Chung had told a parliamentary committee in March that North Korea was enriching weapons-grade uranium at Yongbyon, Kangson and Kusong, and said he was citing remarks by International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi at that month’s board of governors meeting. However, the IAEA transcript of Grossi’s introductory statement records mention only of facilities at Yongbyon and Kangson, with no reference to Kusong.
Context and implications
The Unification Ministry’s response emphasizes that the minister’s comments were based on publicly available sources, and that Seoul believes it has satisfied inquiries from the U.S. embassy. The contrasting report in the Dong-A Ilbo raised the possibility of diplomatic friction and potential constraints on intelligence flows between the United States and South Korea, though Seoul says it has no record of such measures.
At this stage, U.S. officials have not publicly confirmed any protest or intelligence restrictions.