A critical discussion between senior South Korean officials about whether to export weapons that could be used in Ukraine is revealed in a leaked Pentagon document seen.
Two of the senior aides to President Yoon Suk Yeol were the target of the intercept.
They are split between US pressure to arm Ukraine and their stance of refusing to arm belligerent nations.
To avoid appearing to have caved into the Americans, one of the advisors proposes sending the shells to Poland instead.
Finding the source of the leaks, which the Military claims pose a major risk to national security, has become a top priority for Washington.
In order to replace its stock, South Korea agreed to sell artillery shells to the US last year. But, it asked that the US keep the shells for its own use and not deliver them to Kyiv.
President Yoon's foreign affairs secretary Yi Mun-hui allegedly told Kim Sung-Han, who was the national security adviser at the time, that the administration was "mired in concerns that the US might not be the final user" of the munitions during their talk on March 1.
They were also concerned that President Biden might speak with President Yoon directly about the matter, and that if South Korea changed its position on supplying Ukraine with weapons, it might appear as though the US had exerted pressure.
The national security adviser for South Korea, Mr. Kim, reportedly proposed they sell shells to Poland instead since "getting the munitions to Ukraine rapidly was the ultimate purpose of the United States," according to the paper.
While insisting that it is impossible to listen in on private talks taking place inside the South Korean president's office and that this discussion could not have taken place in the country's secure underground bunker, the South claims to be looking into the leak.
The US has been open about its desire for Korea to arm Ukraine. It thinks South Korea, with its capacity to produce cutting-edge weaponry at a fast pace, might significantly influence how the battle turns out.
Yet, Seoul has consistently resisted doing so, citing its rule against providing weaponry to nations in conflict while secretly fretting about strained relations with Moscow.
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This disclosure implies that the South Koreans were both aware of and receptive to the possibility that their rounds could land in Ukraine. This might erode its goodwill with Moscow.
According to Jenny Town, a Korean expert with the think tank 38 North, South Korea "always plays this delicate balancing act, with the US on one side, and Russia and China on the other." "This disclosure demonstrates that they are more worried about the optics. They are attempting to strike a balance between what they are prepared to do to support Ukraine and how it will be viewed."
This revelation, which appears to be based on signals intelligence, also has the potential to sour relations between the United States and South Korea because it implies that the US has been snooping on its longtime friend.
The timing of this announcement is bad, despite the fact that it is not surprising that the US spies on both its allies and foes.
President Yoon will make a state visit to the White House in a fortnight to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the two nations' alliance, which the US makes a point of saying is still "iron-clad."
The opposition party in Seoul is wondering how the US was able to listen in on such a high-level talk, and the report has raised security concerns there. In a statement on Monday, it claimed that "this is a clear violation of our sovereignty by the United States and a super-scale security breach on the side of South Korea."
A counselor to the previous liberal administration, Kim Jong-dae, calls this an "intelligence disaster" for the South Koreans. "The iceberg's tip is here. There is absolutely no chance that this is it "stated he.
The South Korean government is making an effort to minimize the leak. It claims to concur with a US analysis that some of the papers might have been altered.
A government source also issued a warning, stating that any attempt to "exaggerate or misinterpret this incident in order to undermine the alliance before the summit would be rejected."
The US was anticipated to exert more pressure on Mr. Yoon to deploy weaponry to Ukraine during the upcoming conference. The situation has now become more delicate.
