Seoul: South Korean Ambassador to the United States Kang Kyung-wha met with Foreign Minister Cho Hyun on Monday to discuss ways to address growing friction with Washington over intelligence-sharing on North Korea and U.S. claims of discrimination against Coupang Inc., sources said.
According to Yonhap News Agency, their meeting came amid signs of a potential rift between the allies following reports that the U.S. has begun to restrict its intelligence-sharing on North Korea. This action is in response to what it perceives as a leak of classified information on a North Korean nuclear facility by Unification Minister Chung Dong-young.
Seoul and Washington have also been at odds over perceptions in the U.S. of unfair treatment of the U.S.-listed e-commerce giant, Coupang Inc., currently under investigation in Seoul for a massive breach of personal information involving more than 33 million users. Last week, U.S. Republican lawmakers sent a letter to Kang urging Seoul to stop its "targeted assault" on Coupang.
These issues have emerged as potential obstacles to implementing the allies' summit agreement on security-related matters, including Seoul's push to acquire nuclear-powered submarines and secure uranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing capabilities. During Monday's meeting, Kang, a former foreign minister, informed Cho that the U.S. believes both sides should manage the intelligence-sharing issue on North Korea carefully to avoid negatively impacting the alliance, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Kang also reportedly discussed with Cho the broader implications of the Coupang issue and shared her perspective on the current sentiment in the U.S. concerning the matter.
The South Korean Embassy in Washington has been working to reassure the U.S. side, including Congress, that the Coupang issue is being handled in accordance with domestic judicial procedures and should be separated from their security discussions.
Their meeting followed Vice Foreign Minister Jeong Yeon-doo's discussions with Allison Hooker, U.S. under secretary of state for political affairs, in Washington. They addressed issues surrounding the alleged leak of U.S. intelligence-sharing on North Korea. Jeong stated after his meeting with Hooker that efforts were being made to normalize the situation.
Kang was reportedly on a brief trip back home for personal reasons.