Top spy chief admits the US abruptly cut off sensitive intelligence sharing with a major partner

Top spy chief admits the US abruptly cut off sensitive intelligence sharing with a major partner South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has come under fire from the opposition over his management of the U.S. alliance - Bookmark Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Already a member? Log in A month-long parliamentary audit that ended last week exposed strains in South Korea's alliance with the United States, from intelligence sharing to White House access and U.S. visa denials. The opposition People Power Party has blamed President Lee Jae Myung personally, along with his policies, especially on North Korea, for "breaking up" the alliance with the US. "The cause of the breakup is not external; it's inside (the government)," PPP spokesperson Park Choong-kwon said last week. Among the audit's revelations was spy chief Lee Jong-seok's acknowledgment that Washington has curtailed some sensitive intelligence sharing. The curtailment followed accusations that a South Korean minister publicly disclosed the location of a previously unconfirmed North Korean nuclear site. Lee and the military declined to provide details. South Korea's ambassador to the U.S. voiced concern during the audit over limited access to key White House officials. Two prominent lawmakers, meanwhile, protested when their visas were not issued in time for official U.S. visits. Public sentiment is also a concern, with 55% of South Koreans holding an unfavorable view of the U.S., according to a Pew Research survey published in August, the highest figure in more than 20 years. The revelations come just ahead of heavy losses for Trump's Republican Party in the midterm elections and raise questions about the future of the alliance as trade and investment tensions persist and Washington shifts its military priorities in Asia to focus more on China. U.S. officials have said the 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea will remain focused on deterring North Korea, but have signaled greater "flexibility" to operate beyond the peninsula in response to regional threats, potentially including a conflict over Taiwan and China's growing military reach. South Korean government officials have nonetheless sought to portray the alliance as fundamentally sound and the strains as temporary. Foreign Minister Cho Hyun told parliament last week, when asked about U.S. Ambassador Michelle Steel describing the alliance as in "turbulence": "When you're in a turbulence, fasten your seatbelt and it won't be a problem." Cho Han-beom of the Institute for National Unification said the discord stems from Washington's growing focus on China, making Seoul's role in checking China more significant, but it also means less attention to the Korean Peninsula itself. "That will be the case no matter who the president of the United States is," he said. J. James Kim of the US-based Stimson Center said the U.S. posture in the region is undergoing "a doctrinal change" in priorities. The national security strategy the administration released this year surprised Seoul by giving no attention to deterring North Korea. "I think the best way to put it is that it's in transition," Kim said. Public unease extends beyond the U.S. troop presence. South Koreans were shocked when hundreds of South Korean workers were shackled during last year's immigration raid on a battery project in Georgia state. Trump's push for South Korean investment has also unsettled the public. Some lawmakers in Washington, for their part, have been suspicious that Seoul has benefited from its access to the U.S. market while being less welcoming to American companies. Ewha University professor Leif-Eric Easley said following the midterm results, the alliance could become a growing source of uncertainty for South Korea's security and economic interests despite longstanding bipartisan support for Seoul. A Democratic-controlled Congress may constrain Trump, Easley said. "But it is unlikely to alleviate pressure on Seoul for greater defense cost-sharing and strategic flexibility of U.S. forces in regional contingencies, including those involving Taiwan." South Korean Prime Minister Han Seong-sook said on Thursday she did not expect major changes in U.S. relations following the midterm elections, although some issues would need to be analyzed and addressed case by case. Officials on both sides of the Pacific are loath to admit any strain. South Korean Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul denied there were any differences to resolve after meeting U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week. "Secretary Hegseth had just one thing to say about all the talk out there, and that is 'fake news,'" Kang said. "And I agree with him."