Woo Sang-ho, Countering Ruling Party's North Korea Defection Operation Attack: "Which Country Discloses Intelligence Due to Political Strife?"

"It's not because the content is disadvantageous. It's for security reasons"
Even the People Power Party, who were briefed at the time of the incident, said "It's a defection to the North"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Woo Sang-ho, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, countered the ruling party's offensive that defined the killing of a public official in the West Sea as a defection operation, calling it a "new (sin) colorism."

At a press briefing held at the National Assembly that day, Woo responded to reporters' questions by criticizing it as a "new (sin) colorism" aimed at creating a pro-North Korea image and the impression of succumbing to North Korea rather than focusing on people's livelihoods. Regarding the refusal to disclose related materials, he said, "In the past, materials related to the Northern Limit Line (NLL) and summit talks were also opposed to disclosure," adding, "Which country discloses key intelligence related to inter-Korean summits or national security for political strife?"

He pointed out, "The reason for not disclosing is due to national security, not because the content is disadvantageous." Woo said, "If this information is disclosed, North Korea will know which intelligence agency is eavesdropping through which route and what information is being extracted," adding, "We would have to change all the frequencies of our country's eavesdropping agencies, and if the purpose is to neutralize all HUMINT contacts with North Korea, then let's disclose it with a two-thirds vote. This is truly irresponsible," he condemned.

He also mentioned that the ruling party at the time had judged the case as defection. He said, "At that time, members of both ruling and opposition parties in the National Defense Committee and Intelligence Committee viewed it together," adding, "Even current ruling party members have seen it and said, 'It’s defection.' How can such content be turned into political strife?"

Woo referred to a phone call with former National Intelligence Service Director Park Jie-won, denying the defection operation theory. Park explained that he was "going crazy, wanting to disclose it but afraid of punishment," and was very upset.

Furthermore, he mentioned that they obtained an apology from Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission at the time. He said, "When Park Wang-ja, who went on a tour to Mount Kumgang in the early Lee Myung-bak administration, was killed, did the government receive an apology from North Korea?" adding, "Our government strongly protested and obtained an apology from North Korea’s highest leader. Which government responded more strongly to the sacrifice of its people?"

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