US Monitors All Except 'Five Eyes'... Battle of Spear and Shield

Professor Kim Seung-joo of Korea University SBS Interview
"Repeated US Surveillance... Diplomatic Efforts Needed"

Professor Kim Seung-joo of Korea University Graduate School of Information Security explained that the United States can monitor all countries except the so-called intelligence allies known as the 'Five Eyes.'

The Five Eyes refers to five English-speaking countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. They maintain a cooperative system in which their respective intelligence agencies form an alliance (UKUSA) and share the information obtained.

In an interview on June 11 with SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' Professor Kim explained regarding the revelation that the U.S. has been wiretapping its allies, "Allied countries have very diverse cooperative relationships with the United States, but depending on the issue at hand, they are countries that can be monitored." In other words, South Korea, an ally not part of the Five Eyes, is a country that the U.S. can monitor depending on the issue.

Yongsan Presidential Office.

Professor Kim said, "In the past, the U.S. has wiretapped us, and such incidents have been repeated," adding, "There are concerns that because of the urgent relocation to Yongsan, sufficient countermeasures might not have been prepared, but the U.S. is so advanced in wiretapping that even if countermeasures are put in place, completely blocking it is not that easy."

He continued, "Since U.S. military facilities are right next to buildings like the Ministry of National Defense, they are always considering and preparing countermeasures."

Professor Kim explained that "the technology for wiretapping and blocking it is like a spear and shield," and that the issue of wiretapping between countries is essentially a battle of technological capabilities.

He said that to prevent this, wiretapping technology must be developed, but in reality, researching such technology is not easy. He explained, "If our country tries to research the technology, people might look at it with suspicion, asking 'What are you trying to use that for?'"

Ultimately, Professor Kim said, "Diplomatic efforts are also necessary," adding, "Although South Korea is classified as a country that can be monitored depending on the issue, there is still a need for diplomatic efforts such as 'Let's share information and raise the classification between us.' Japan has been making such efforts very consistently."

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