South Korean security official says information contained in leaked US documents ‘untrue’ and ‘altered’

US grapples to contain diplomatic fallout amid leaked documents suggesting snooping on allies

Purportedly leaked Pentagon documents giving details about internal discussions among South Korean officials were “untrue” and “altered”, said a senior security adviser of the East Asian nation.

Deputy national security adviser Kim Tae-hyo made the remark as he departed for Washington ahead of president Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit to the US on 26 April, stressing that the two countries’ alliance remained strong.

His remarks came as several documents, recently posted on social media, revealed alleged conversations among South Korean officials deliberating pressure from the US to help supply weapons to Ukraine.

The US has rushed to manage the diplomatic fallout following allegations of spying on allies, with secretary of defence Lloyd Austin holding phone talks with his South Korean counterpart.

The phone conversation took place at the request of Mr Austin, said South Korea’s defence ministry. During the conversation, the Pentagon chief vowed to closely communicate and cooperate with South Korea, the ministry said.

The leaks have drawn domestic condemnation as the office of South Korean president dismissed reports of monitoring as “utterly false”.

Any attempts to shake its alliance with the US is an act "compromising national interest", it added.

"The two countries have a same assessment that much of the information disclosed is altered," Mr Kim told reporters, adding that the report on South Korea is "untrue". He did not, however, elaborate which parts of the document were untrue.

The unverified document, which does not appear to have a date on it, said that South Korea had agreed to sell artillery shells to help the US replenish its stockpiles, insisting that the "end user" should be the US military. But internally, top South Korean officials were worried that the US would divert them to Ukraine.

South Korea has said its law forbids supplying weapons to countries engaged in conflict, meaning it can’t send arms to Ukraine.

The leaked documents appeared to be based in part on signals intelligence, which suggests the US had been spying on South Korea. But Mr Kim said that the latest leak is unlikely to have an impact on the relationship between the two countries. "The US is the country with the world’s best intelligence capabilities and since (Yoon’s) inauguration we have shared intelligence in almost every sector," he said.

President Yoon is also facing domestic pushback amid the leaks.

Some lawmakers of South Korea’s main opposition Democratic Party expressed "strong regret" on Monday over the alleged surveillance, calling it a clear violation of national sovereignty and a major security failure of the Yoon administration.

Additional reporting from the wires