South Korea foreign minister denies claim NIS chief was refused US entry
In short
Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon told a National Assembly audit on Oct 6 that National Intelligence Service Director Lee Jong-seok was denied entry to the United States around March over alleged anti-US tendencies. Foreign Minister Cho Hyun told the committee she knew of no such fact and rejected the claim outright, while declining to discuss intelligence matters. Han said he had asked the Foreign Ministry on Oct 4 for materials to verify the matter and had not received them.
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Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon said at a National Assembly audit of the Foreign Ministry on Oct 6 that he understood National Intelligence Service Director Lee Jong-seok had been refused entry to the United States around March this year, with Washington citing his anti-US tendencies. Han, a member of the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, asked Foreign Minister Cho Hyun whether this was true. [ 1 , 3 ]
Cho replied that as far as she knew there was no such fact. When Han asked whether that meant it did not happen or that she did not know, she repeated that as far as she knew there was none. Told that US authorities had sent a document to the director's side inquiring about anti-US tendencies, Cho said “not at all,” adding that she had been briefed at a Korea-US foreign ministers' meeting about problems in the intelligence field and that this was not the case. Asked what the problem was, she said she could not discuss intelligence matters. [ 1 , 3 ]
Han said in a Facebook post that he had received reliable information that a “white” NIS agent had been refused entry to the United States, an “unprecedented” situation, and that he had asked the Foreign Ministry on Oct 4 to submit materials for verification but had not yet received them. [ 1 , 3 ]
Han also said many US politicians are uncomfortable with Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, arguing that the state of Korea-US relations was hard to square with that perception. Cho said the matter concerned the “Kusong remark” that had previously appeared in the media. According to Yonhap, Chung told the committee on March 6, citing a report by International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi, that North Korea's uranium enrichment sites included Kangson in addition to Yongbyon and Kusong; it was the first public mention of Kusong by a senior official, and reports later followed that the United States had limited the sharing of some North Korea intelligence with Seoul. [ 1 ]
The questioning produced sharp exchanges: Han told the minister to be more diplomatic and said her expression differed depending on which side of the committee was speaking, to which Cho answered, “How much better a face am I supposed to make?” Under continued pressure, Yonhap reported, Cho looked toward committee chairman Song Seok-jun of the People Power Party and said she was seeking an “SOS,” and the chairman asked both sides to try not to force such appeals. [ 1 ]
Why it matters
The exchange puts a public dispute about the head of South Korea's intelligence service and access to the United States on the record at a parliamentary audit, at a time when the documents say US limits on sharing some North Korea intelligence with Seoul have been reported. It also shows the Foreign Ministry declining to explain intelligence-related issues in public, leaving the claim unverified by documents the committee requested. The documents do not establish consequences beyond the hearing itself.
Key facts
- Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon said he understood that NIS Director Lee Jong-seok was refused entry to the United States around March this year, with Washington citing his anti-US tendencies. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Han, who sits on the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, put the claim to Foreign Minister Cho Hyun at the Foreign Ministry audit on Oct 6. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Cho said she knew of no such fact, and when asked whether it did not happen or she did not know, repeated that as far as she knew there was none. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Cho said “not at all” to Han's account that US authorities had sent a document to the director's side inquiring about anti-US tendencies. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Cho said she had been briefed at a Korea-US foreign ministers' meeting about problems in the intelligence field, and declined to say what the issue was because it concerned intelligence matters. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Han said on Facebook that he received reliable information that a “white” NIS agent was refused US entry and that he requested verification materials from the Foreign Ministry on Oct 4 but had not received them. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Han also said US politicians are uncomfortable with Unification Minister Chung Dong-young; Cho said that concerned the previously reported “Kusong remark.” [ 1 ]
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- Whether the NIS director was in fact refused entry to the United States. Cho denied it, while Han said he based his claim on reliable information; the Foreign Ministry had not provided the materials Han requested on Oct 4, according to the documents.
- What intelligence-related problem Cho said she was briefed about at a Korea-US foreign ministers' meeting. Cho declined to explain, saying she could not discuss intelligence matters, and the documents give no further detail.
- Whether Han's Oct 4 request and his claim concern the NIS director or a “white” agent. Han's committee remarks refer to the NIS director, while his Facebook post refers to a “white agent”; the documents do not reconcile the two.
- The claim that the United States is avoiding Unification Minister Chung Dong-young. Han is the only source for the claim in the documents; Cho attributed the matter to the previously reported “Kusong remark.”