South Korea says US alliance not in crisis despite Coupang-linked friction, media reports

Wi Sung-lac said security consultations with the U.S. were being affected by a dispute related to U.S.-listed e-commerce firm Coupang Inc CPNG.N, but called for alliance issues to be handled independently from legal matters.

Seoul has called for talks with the U.S. over a security agreement to proceed separately from issues related to a probe into a Coupang data leak, after a media report said Washington had threatened to halt ​talks without legal guarantees for Coupang’s Chairman Kim Bom.

“It is true that it is affecting South Korea-U.S. security consultations,” Wi told reporters in Hanoi, according to the Yonhap News Agency, adding that Seoul’s position was for the matter to go through legal procedures while security talks should move forward separately.

Wi said security consultations had been delayed, but was cited by Yonhap as saying Seoul’s position was that talks should resume as soon as possible.

“The South Korea-U.S. relationship is an alliance and a very close relationship, so various issues arise,” Wi said.

“There can be differing views, and that is why they need to be carefully coordinated.”

Wi said it would be “an excessive interpretation” to see the current situation as the result of accumulated, abnormal tensions in the alliance.

“An alliance is a very close relationship, but like a garden, it must be carefully managed,” he said, according to the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper. “We are in that kind of process now.”

Wi said the government did not believe Unification Minister Chung Dong-young leaked U.S.-provided intelligence when he referred to North Korea’s suspected uranium-enrichment site at Kusong, the Newsis news agency reported.

Washington appeared to believe information it had shared had been disclosed, Wi told media. He said, however, that while information on the Kusong facility was regarded as a South Korea-U.S. joint secret, Chung maintained he was never briefed on such material and had relied instead on open sources – a view shared by Seoul.

Asked about Wi’s comments on Chung, a senior U.S. administration official said: “The U.S. government expects all partners to safeguard sensitive U.S. information shared through private channels.”

(Reporting by Joyce LeeEditing by Ed Davies)