“South Korea and U.S. Evaluation Results Match: Most of the Classified Documents Were Forged,” Kim Tae-hyo Heads to the U.S.

Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo departs for the U.S. to discuss the final arrangements for President Yoon Suk-yeol’s state visit to the U.S. from Incheon International Airport Terminal 2 on the morning of April 11. Yonhap News

On April 11, Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo spoke on the wiretapping of allies including South Korea by a U.S. intelligence agency and said, “The opinions of the two countries (South Korea and the United States) matched. A considerable portion of the disclosed information was forged.”

Kim made the statement when he met reporters at Incheon International Airport before leaving for his 5-day trip to the U.S.

When asked if the Office of the President conducted its own investigation into the allegation that a U.S. intelligence agency wiretapped the presidential office along with his views on the authenticity of the documents, Kim Tae-hyo said, “After this matter was disclosed, we conducted an internal evaluation, and the U.S. probably conducted its own investigation. The defense ministers of the two countries talked over the phone this morning, and the views of the two countries matched.”

The deputy national security adviser said, “A considerable part of the disclosed information was forged, and our assessments on that were the same.” He further explained, “However, since for the U.S. this is a domestic issue, they will begin tracking down the people behind the incident as well as the details through the Justice Department, and it will take some time. You can say that for now, South Korea and the U.S. reached the same conclusion in our evaluations.”

He continued and said, “Since the two countries are allies in intelligence, we are working closely now on important intelligence issues,” and added, “We plan to take the latest opportunity to further strengthen trust and reinforce a system of cooperation between the two countries.”

When asked what position the South Korean government planned to convey to the U.S., Kim said, “There is none, since someone forged them,” and “The U.S. investigation is going to take some time.”

He also said that the latest controversy would not be a variable in the alliance between the Republic of Korea and the United States ahead of President Yoon Suk-yeol’s trip to the U.S. He argued that the incident would boost trust between the two countries. He said, “The U.S. is the world’s greatest country in intelligence, and the two countries have now shared intelligence in almost all areas for eleven months since the inauguration.” He argued, “Since we are engaging in important intelligence activities together, it is a great asset that we are working together with the capability and capacity of such a Republic of Korea, and I believe trust between the two countries will now grow stronger.”