Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, center, talks to reporters before meeting Park In-jun, president of the Korea Conference of Religions for Peace in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young on Thursday rejected allegations that his reference to North Korea's Kusong as one of its uranium enrichment sites constituted a leak of classified information, dismissing the criticism as a "political trick" hampering the national interest.
The minister made the remarks to reporters as opposition lawmakers stepped up calls for his removal after Chung identified Kusong, along with Yongbyon and Kangson, as a region housing uranium enrichment facilities for the country's nuclear weapons program during a parliamentary session last month.
Seoul and Washington have so far officially recognized Yongbyon and Kangson as the only uranium enrichment sites.
The United States and opposition lawmakers criticized Chung's remarks as disclosing classified information shared by Washington, while Chung pushed back, saying that the remarks were based on publicly available information and meant to highlight the urgency of addressing the North's nuclear issue.
On Thursday, Chung again rejected the criticism as "an overblown political trick" that will only "hamper the national interest" and "create an internal feud," adding that he suspects some individuals may have stirred up the issue with "a hidden motive."
"Turning this into a controversy might be amusing, but it only compromises the national interest," he noted.
The minister again said his reference to Kusong as a nuclear site was based on information long available in expert reports and news articles and did not amount to a leak of intelligence.
"The essence of the remarks was that North Korea's nuclear issue is very serious ... and that a shift to dialogue and negotiations is vital at a time when sanctions, pressure and isolation have not worked," he noted.
Addressing concerns that the controversy could harm South Korea-U.S. relations, Chung said he does not think it will pose any further problems.
Source: Korea Times News
