Rep. Sung Il-jong of the main opposition People Power Party speaks during a press briefing at the National Assembly in Seoul, Jan. 30. Yonhap
The commander of the U.S. military stationed in South Korea, Gen. Xavier Brunson, has lodged a protest against the unification minister's recent remarks that allegedly leaked classified U.S. information about North Korea's nuclear facility, a lawmaker said Tuesday.
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young has come under fire for referring to the North's Kusong region as one of the sites hosting the country's uranium enrichment facilities in a parliamentary session last month.
Brunson recently lodged a protest with Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back over Chung's remarks, according to Rep. Sung Il-jong of the main opposition People Power Party, who chairs the parliamentary national defense committee.
"Minister Chung should step down immediately," Sung told a press briefing, arguing that a minister who has caused such a rift in the South Korea-U.S. alliance should not remain in office.
Following the controversy, the United States has partially restricted sharing intelligence with South Korea involving North Korea-related technology collected through satellites, military officials said earlier.
So far, only two regions — Yongbyon and Kangson — have been officially recognized as uranium enrichment sites in North Korea.
The unification ministry has claimed Chung's remarks were based on "open information," rejecting claims that they were based on intelligence shared by Washington.
Source: Korea Times News
