The leak of secret Pentagon documents has reverberations as far as South Korea
Photo source: AbsolutVision
The leak of secret Pentagon documents, which were recently published online, has strong echoes in South Korea, considered a key US ally, after the information revealed that the CIA had been spying on Seoul, which was concerned that the shells sold to Washington could end up in Ukraine, thus violating the country’s policy on providing lethal aid. South Korea is aware of the news of the leak of several classified US military documents and plans to discuss with the United States “issues arising” from the leak, a South Korean presidential official said on Sunday, Reuters reports. One of the documents obtained by Reuters, details internal discussions between senior South Korean officials about US pressure on Seoul to help supply weapons to Ukraine and its policy not to do so. CIA agents allegedly monitored an internal discussion about concerns that artillery shells that South Korea planned to sell to the US could eventually end up in Ukraine, according to Yonhap news agency. The document, which does not appear to be dated, shows that South Korea, one of the US’s most important allies, has agreed to sell shells to help Washington replenish its stockpile, insisting that the “end user” should be the US military.
South Korea supported international sanctions against Russia and provided non-lethal aid to Kiev but did not send weapons. President Yoon Suk Yeol said a South Korean law banning the supply of weapons to countries involved in the conflict makes it difficult to send weapons to Ukraine. Despite being a major arms exporter, Seoul has a long-standing policy of not selling weapons to countries at war, a position that has led to accusations that the South wants to avoid antagonizing Russia, whose support it needs to pressure North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons. Although it has hesitated to arm Ukraine, Seoul’s arms sales rose 140 percent to a record $17.3 billion last year, according to the Defense Ministry. Currently the eighth largest arms exporter in the world, South Korea aims to reach the top four by 2027. The South Korean presidential official declined to answer reporters’ questions about the US spying or confirm any details in the leaked documents. Asked if South Korea plans to demand an explanation from the United States, the official, who declined to be identified, said the government would also look into cases involving other countries. President Yoon Suk Yeol is scheduled to meet with US President Joe Biden on April 26 during a state visit to Washington.
By Paul Bumman
