Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said Wednesday that "telling the U.S. that its restrictions on intelligence sharing (on North Korea) are unreasonable and inappropriate, and urging Washington to lift them quickly, is what serves the national interest."
Meeting with reporters after the launch ceremony of the third 2030 Youth Advisory Panel and a minister-youth dialogue held at Odusan Observatory in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, Chung made the remarks in response to opposition parties that submitted a motion calling for his dismissal. "They say they will handle security issues in a bipartisan manner, but their pro-U.S. stance is excessive," he said.
Chung noted that he had mentioned the city of Kusong as the location of a North Korean uranium enrichment facility not only at the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee last month but also at his confirmation hearing last year. At the time, People Power Party (PPP) members of the committee showed no reaction, but "started making a big fuss" only after the United States raised the issue, he said. Turning to the opposition, he asked, "Are they U.S. lawmakers?" adding, "Korean lawmakers should represent the people and speak for the national interest."
After Chung mentioned Kusong in addition to Yongbyon and Kangson — the uranium enrichment sites confirmed by South Korean and U.S. authorities — the United States reportedly took issue with what it described as a leak of classified information it had shared, and moved to restrict the sharing of satellite intelligence on North Korea. Chung and the Unification Ministry rebutted the leak claims, saying the information on the Kusong uranium enrichment facility had been gathered from publicly available sources, including reports by overseas think tanks. Still, the opposition's offensive has continued.
Regarding PPP floor leader Song Eon-seok's remark that Chung's push to open public debate on using "Joseon," North Korea's official name, as a form of reference also constitutes grounds for his dismissal, Chung said, "That is their logic and not the view of the majority of the public."
