On Tuesday (Apr 11), South Korea stated that fake documents comprised a “significant portion” of leaked US intelligence documents indicating concerns in Seoul about arms supplies to Ukraine.
The documents are part of a broader leak. Pentagon has described it as a “very serious” national security risk.
Furthermore, the leak has created a diplomatic headache for Washington. This is because it appears to show the US spying on close allies such as South Korea and Israel.
Some files reportedly reveal the concern among top South Korean national security officials . They fear that their country might end up providing arms and ammunition actively to Ukraine, which could be used in the conflict.
This violates Seoul’s policy of not selling weapons to nations at war.
On Tuesday, the US secretary of defense and the South Korean defense minister held a call. They concludes that “a significant number of the documents in question occur fabricated.”
Dozens of photographs of the documents have been circulating on social media platforms and messaging services for at least weeks.
The Pentagon has stated that it is working to determine if the documents are genuine.
However, US officials reportedly believe many of the documents are real.
US and South Korea
The leak has prompted US officials to reassure allies such as South Korea. Allies which has provided non-lethal and humanitarian aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded last year.
Nevertheless, Seoul has a long-standing policy against providing weapons to countries in active conflict, which makes it challenging to supply arms directly to Ukraine.
The purported Ukraine discussions among top national security officials’ revelation has sparked criticism in South Korea about the vulnerability of sensitive sites, including the presidential office.