Pentagon leak shows S Korea torn on sending Ukraine weapons

Leaked Pentagon documents look to uncover a delicate speech betwixt high-level South Korean officials connected whether to nonstop weapons to Ukraine.

The concealed document, seen by the BBC, suggests that the US has been spying connected its decades-old state South Korea.

It was successful a leak that includes accusation astir the warfare successful Ukraine, arsenic good arsenic connected China and US allies.

South Korea said suspicions the US spied connected delicate conversations were "absurd and false".

The authorities said it was intolerable to intercept backstage conversations wrong the statesmanlike office, ruling retired the anticipation that this treatment took spot successful its backstage underground bunker.

Meanwhile US and South Korean defence chiefs accidental immoderate of the documents whitethorn person been distorted.

The papers seen by the BBC appears to amusement that South Korea was torn implicit whether to merchantability ammunition that could beryllium utilized by Ukraine.

Washington has been pushing Seoul to limb Kyiv, but it has truthful acold resisted, citing its argumentation not to proviso weapons to countries astatine war.

Last year, South Korea agreed it would merchantability artillery shells to the US, to replenish its stocks, which person been depleted by the warfare successful Ukraine.

As portion of the deal, Seoul insisted that the US had to support the shells for itself, they could not beryllium diverted onto Kyiv. The leaked study shows the authorities was acrophobic astir the woody and suspected the US mightiness so walk the artillery connected to Ukraine.,

It details a sensitive, high-level speech from 1 March 2023 betwixt 2 of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's elder nationalist information advisors.

President Yoon's overseas affairs caput advisor Yi Mun-hui reportedly told the past National Security Advisor Kim Sung-han that the authorities was "mired successful concerns that the US would not beryllium the extremity user" of the ammunition.

They besides disquieted that President Biden could telephone President Yoon straight astir the issue, and that if South Korea were to alteration its argumentation connected providing weapons to Ukraine, it could look arsenic if it had been pressured by the US.

According to the document, South Korea's nationalist information advisor, Mr Kim, past suggested they could merchantability shells to Poland instead, fixed that "getting the ammunition to Ukraine rapidly was the eventual extremity of the United States".

The US has made nary concealed of the information that it wants Seoul to limb Ukraine. It believes South Korea, with its quality to physique precocious weapons astatine a breakneck speed, could marque a important publication to the result of the war.

But Seoul has been reluctant to bash so, for fearfulness of burning bridges with Russia. This leak suggests Seoul not lone understood that South Korean shells could extremity up successful Ukraine, but that they were unfastened to this happening, which could strain its narration with Russia.

"South Korea ever plays this delicate balancing act, with the US connected 1 side, and Russia and China connected the other," said Jenny Town, a Korea expert from the deliberation vessel 38 North. "This leak shows it is the optics they are astir acrophobic about. They're trying to equilibrium what they're consenting to bash to enactment Ukraine with however it volition beryllium perceived."

The timing of the leak is unfortunate. In a fortnight President Yoon volition question to the White House connected a authorities sojourn to observe 70 years of the confederation betwixt the 2 countries - an confederation the US is astatine pains to constituent retired is inactive "iron-clad".

This has triggered information concerns successful Seoul, with the absorption enactment questioning however the US was capable to intercept specified a high-level conversation. "This is simply a wide usurpation of our sovereignty by the United States and a super-scale information breach connected the South Korean part," it said successful a connection connected Monday.

Kim Jong-dae, an advisor for the erstwhile wide government, describes this arsenic an "intelligence disaster" for the South Koreans. "This is the extremity of the iceberg. There is nary mode successful hellhole this is it," helium said.

Meanwhile, a authorities root warned that immoderate effort "exaggerate oregon distort this incident, to shingle the confederation up of the summit, volition beryllium resisted".

The US was expected to usage the upcoming acme to further property Mr Yoon to nonstop weapons to Ukraine. That substance is abruptly much delicate.