청, 'Paizeu Aijeu' 미검토 물음에 "최 차관이 정부 대표로 답변"

Choi Jong-geon, 1st Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Attends National Assembly Foreign Affairs Committee "Never Officially Considered Joining Five Eyes"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] The Blue House stated that First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-geon’s response that the government has not officially considered joining the Five Eyes alliance was given as a representative of the government. This means that the Blue House’s stance is not different from the opinion expressed by Vice Minister Choi.

A senior Blue House official told reporters on the 7th, "Vice Minister Choi spoke on behalf of the government, and our response regarding the Five Eyes is the same."

Earlier, Vice Minister Choi appeared before the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee and said, "(The South Korean government) has not officially considered the issue of joining the Five Eyes until now."

The view of the Blue House from Namsan, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Interest in the matter arose as it became known that the U.S. Congress is considering whether to include South Korea in the Five Eyes, a group of countries that share classified information with the U.S. Both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the competent authority, and the Blue House have been cautious in commenting on this issue.

Meanwhile, the Blue House also reported that it is closely monitoring North Korea’s movements. A senior Blue House official explained, "Regarding North Korea’s activities around September 9th, the South Korean and U.S. intelligence agencies are closely cooperating to meticulously track related developments."

The Blue House also lent support to Vice Minister Choi’s statement before the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee that the reactivation of North Korea’s Yongbyon nuclear facility does not violate inter-Korean agreements.

A senior Blue House official said, "It seems that the Blue House will generally align with Vice Minister Choi’s response to the National Assembly, but we will consult with the National Security Office and provide additional answers if possible."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.