Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop: "Approving SI Information Provision to Various Agencies"

Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-seop is attending the government questioning session on politics, diplomacy, unification, and security held at the National Assembly plenary session hall on the 25th, responding to questions from lawmakers. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] On the 1st, Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop stated that the Special Intelligence (SI) related to the recent controversial West Sea public official shooting incident and the forced repatriation of North Korean fishermen was secured by South Korean military assets, not by the ROK-US combined forces.

Minister Lee appeared at the National Assembly Defense Committee plenary session that day and responded to a related inquiry by Yoon Hu-deok, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, saying, "The SI in question was not obtained through ROK-US combined intelligence assets but was secured by our own assets."

Yoon asked, "Isn't SI collected jointly by South Korea and the US?" and "Has the Ministry of National Defense ever confirmed or protested to the US military regarding the Ministry's SI in the two recent incidents?" Minister Lee replied, "There is no such fact," answering in this way.

Regarding Yoon's question about whether the US side should be asked if their intelligence assessment has changed, since the 777 Unit, a North Korea monitoring unit, is jointly composed by South Korea and the US to analyze information, Minister Lee said, "This SI controversy is not a matter of judgment but a record of facts as they are."

Minister Lee also addressed the fact that the Ministry of National Defense is undergoing an audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection and that the 777 Unit is subject to prosecution investigation, stating, "No soldier would think favorably about the military being investigated or audited by external agencies," but added, "We believe it is appropriate to provide military secrets to investigative agencies and have approved it."

In response to a question from Lee Jae-myung, a Democratic Party member, about the level of North Korea's nuclear weapons, Minister Lee said, "It is estimated to be at a considerable level," and added, "It can be seen as a state of striving for practical deployment."

Regarding the level of North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) atmospheric reentry technology, Minister Lee said it is difficult to judge but stated, "The fact that North Korea continues to test-launch ICBMs means they intend to operationalize them, and since reentry technology is essential for operationalization, it is reasonable to assess that they possess considerable technology."

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