Dispute Over Lee Jongseok's Failed U.S. Visit... NIS: "False Report, Strong Response"

NIS effectively acknowledges report it was excluded from June South Korea-U.S.-Japan meeting on North Korean cyber threats: "There were misunderstandings, but that's all in the past"

Lee Jong-seok, director of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), strongly denied as “false” on October 8 media reports that he had sought to visit the United States early this year but that the trip fell through after the U.S. effectively rejected the request.

Lee Jong-seok, Director of the National Intelligence Service

In a statement to the media, the NIS said, “In March, amid the outbreak of the war in the Middle East, the NIS director was focused on responding to protect national security and national interests and safeguard Korean nationals overseas, so there was no possibility of him traveling abroad. There was no plan to visit the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA).” The NIS described the report as “maliciously false and distorted” and said it would “respond firmly, considering all necessary measures, including legal action.”

Earlier, the Chosun Ilbo reported that Lee had sought to visit the NGA, an intelligence agency under the U.S. Department of Defense, around March, but the visit fell through because U.S. intelligence agencies did not approve it. The newspaper also reported that NIS agents involved in the Coupang personal information leak case had been placed on a list of people subject to restrictions on entering the United States, effectively blocking them from obtaining visas. The NIS also denied this, saying it was “entirely untrue,” but offered no further explanation.

Taking aim at the report, the NIS called it “an irresponsible attempt to undermine the NIS” and reiterated its regret, saying, “The movements of the head of an intelligence agency are highly classified matters related to national security and must never be made public.”

However, the NIS effectively acknowledged the substance of a separate Dong-A Ilbo report that it had been unusually excluded from the “5th Working Group Meeting on Responding to North Korean Cyber Threats” held in Washington, D.C., in June, saying, “There were some misunderstandings several months ago, but that is already in the past.”

The NIS added, “Differences in national interests can sometimes lead to misunderstandings between countries. What matters is how promptly they are resolved. There are currently no misunderstandings between the South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities.”

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