Full normalization of US intel sharing not yet achieved; JCS chief vows to resolve issue quickly

Delivery of strategic intelligence under review after Defense Intelligence Agency reorganization

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Jin Young-seung delivers a briefing at the National Assembly's national audit of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held at South Korea's Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on Thursday. [National Assembly Press Corps]
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Jin Young-seung delivers a briefing at the National Assembly's national audit of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held at South Korea's Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on Thursday. [National Assembly Press Corps]

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Jin Young-seung said Thursday that the United States has partially restricted its sharing of intelligence on North Korea with South Korea. He said the information needed to respond to North Korean nuclear and missile threats continues to flow, leaving the military's readiness unaffected, but acknowledged that full normalization has not yet been achieved and said he is working to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.

While Jin maintained that nuclear and missile response missions face no immediate disruption, the intelligence-sharing dispute that erupted in March — after Unification Minister Jeong Dong-young publicly named Guseong in North Pyongan Province as a uranium enrichment site — appears to remain unresolved.

Speaking at the National Assembly's national audit of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Jin was asked by People Power Party lawmaker Seong Il-jong whether key intelligence on North Korea's nuclear program was being shared between Seoul and Washington. "Some is restricted, but there is no problem with our readiness posture," Jin said.

When Seong pressed him on whether readiness could be maintained under such restrictions, Jin said, "It is not the case that information on imminent signs or various other matters is not being shared."

Pushed further with the assertion that important intelligence was being withheld, Jin rebuffed the claim. "I do not think that is the case," he said.

In response to follow-up questions from People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Yong-won, Jin said, "It is true that this has not been fully restored, but there are no problems or restrictions in carrying out our nuclear- and missile-related missions." His remarks drew a distinction between intelligence required for military responses to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats — which he said continues to be shared — and a separate category of information subject to partial restrictions.

Jin said he believes the situation should be resolved quickly and that he is working toward that end. Asked by Yoo whether a prolonged partial restriction on intelligence sharing was unusual, Jin said, "I would expect it to be shared within a short time." He indicated normalization was possible but offered no specific timeline.

The dispute traces back to March, when Unification Minister Jeong told the National Assembly that Guseong in North Pyongan Province was a North Korean uranium enrichment site — adding it to the previously known locations of Yongbyon and Kangson. The United States reportedly raised objections on the grounds that classified intelligence shared between the two allies had been disclosed, and subsequently imposed partial restrictions on its sharing of North Korea-related intelligence.

The South Korean government, however, maintains that the information Jeong cited was already in the public domain. Officials said his reference to Guseong had also come up at his confirmation hearing last July and was based on analyses by research institutions, including those in the United States — not classified intelligence provided by Washington. The dispute thus reflects a fundamental difference in how the two sides view whether the information in question was classified.

The restricted material is understood to include North Korea technology-related intelligence gathered by US satellites. While intelligence needed for military responses to North Korea's nuclear and missile activities continues to be shared, some information — such as analysis of satellite imagery of North Korea — has reportedly been affected. The specific scope and extent of the restrictions have not been made public.

The National Intelligence Service was also reportedly excluded at US insistence from a trilateral South Korea-US-Japan working-group meeting on North Korean cyber threats held in the United States in June. That exclusion is also seen as connected to Washington's reaction to Jeong's remarks about Guseong.

Care should be taken, however, not to interpret the situation as a broad suspension of South Korea-US military intelligence cooperation. Jin doubled down Thursday on his assertion that nuclear and missile response missions face no restrictions.

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Park Seon-won said the intelligence-sharing issue was one to be resolved between the US Central Intelligence Agency and the National Intelligence Service, and claimed it was "almost entirely resolved." Asked whether there were any problems between the Joint Chiefs of Staff and US military intelligence agencies such as the National Security Agency, Jin said there were none.

Meanwhile, the delivery of intelligence following the organizational separation of the Defense Ministry's Defense Intelligence Agency from the Joint Chiefs of Staff's intelligence directorate also draws fire. Asked whether intelligence from the Defense Intelligence Agency was being received in real time, Jin said, "There are some restrictions related to strategic intelligence, and we are reviewing an organizational restructuring." Separate from the US intelligence-sharing issue, the pipeline for delivering strategic intelligence has come under scrutiny following the domestic military intelligence reorganization.


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