The U.S. Expressing Regret over the Disclosure by Lawmaker Roh Hoe-chan

The U.S. Department of Defense made a comment on the disclosure of the content of the Future of the Alliance Initiatives (FOTA) talks by Korean lawmaker Roh Hoe-chan. “We are confident that the Korean government will maintain the system which is designed for confidential information sharing of both nations.”

The Pentagon did not comment on the truth of the disclosed information. However, it seemed to have expressed its regret indirectly by pointing out the Korean government’s obligation to keep the system of confidential information sharing.

“The U.S. will keep carrying out its duty for the security of Korea and the peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and the Asia Pacific region,” the statement read. “We had a candid discussion with Korean counterparts that the relocation of U.S. Forces in Korea is in line with a major realignment of U.S. forces around the world, and we were able to trust each other.”

To prevent the incident from becoming serious, a Pentagon official said that the disclosure incident would not affect the relations between the two countries, not to mention the R.O.K.-U.S. alliance.

Meanwhile, the Korea Ministry of National Defense asked for the U.S. consent through a working-level channel on Tuesday morning right after the official comment of the Pentagon.

Soon-Taek Kwon Ho-Won Choi maypole@donga.com bestiger@donga.com