Seoul: Apparently based on internal discussions among top South Korean security officials, the information in the allegedly leaked US confidential document was deemed "untrue" and "altered" by South Korea on Tuesday.
A diplomatic dispute between the US and some allies resulted from several documents that were recently posted on social media and provided a partial, month-old snapshot of the war in Ukraine.
One of the documents detailed internal discussions between South Korean officials regarding US pressure on Seoul to assist in providing weapons to Ukraine.
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This information raised the possibility that the US may have been spying on South Korea, one of its most important allies, and drew criticism from the Asian nation's lawmakers.
Yoon Suk Yeol's office issued a statement claiming that any allegations that his office in Seoul was being watched were "completely false" and that any efforts to sever South Korea's ties with the US would be "compromising national interest."
Both the US Secretary of Defense and his South Korean counterpart agreed over the phone on Tuesday that much of the information in the document about South Korea was false, according to Yoon's office.
It did not specify what specific information in the document was false.
The Pentagon chief explained about recent media reports on the leak and promised to closely communicate with South Korea during the phone call that was held at Austin's request, according to the defence ministry of South Korea.
The information was revealed just a few weeks before Yoon's meeting with US Vice President Joe Biden, which is scheduled for April 26 in Washington.
On Monday, some Democratic Party lawmakers from South Korea's main opposition party expressed "strong regret" over the alleged surveillance, describing it as a blatant breach of national sovereignty and a significant security blunder by the Yoon administration.
As he left for Washington in preparation for Yoon's visit, Kim Tae-hyo, South Korea's deputy national security adviser, declared that the most recent controversy will not have an effect on South Korea's alliance with the US.
Since (Yoon's) inauguration, we have shared intelligence in almost every field, with the US having the best intelligence capabilities in the world', Kim told reporters.
The document, which does not appear to have a date, stated that South Korea had consented to sell artillery shells in order to assist the US in replenishing its stockpiles, with the condition that the "end user" be the US military.
However, senior South Korean officials were concerned internally that the US would send them to Ukraine. According to South Korea, sending weapons to a country at war is against the law, so it cannot send weapons to Ukraine.
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The authenticity of the documents has not been independently confirmed by Reuters. According to US officials, some estimates of casualties on the battlefield in Ukraine appeared to have been changed to understate Russian losses.
