USFK Commander Protests Unification Minister's North Korea Remarks, Lawmaker Says

SEOUL, April 21 -- The commander of U.S. Forces Korea has lodged a protest with South Korea's defense minister over remarks by the unification minister that allegedly leaked classified U.S. Rep. Sung Il-jong of the main opposition People Power Party, who chairs the parliamentary national defense committee, said the commander protested to Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back regarding Unification Minister Chung Dong-young's comments.

Chung referred to the North's Kusong region as one of the sites hosting the country's uranium enrichment facilities in a parliamentary session.

Sung told a press briefing, "Minister Chung should step down immediately," arguing that a minister who has caused such a rift in the South Korea-U.S. alliance should not remain in office. Following the controversy, the United States has partially restricted sharing intelligence with South Korea involving North Korea-related technology collected through satellites, military officials said earlier.

So far, only two regions -- Yongbyon and Kangson -- have been officially recognized as uranium enrichment sites in North Korea. The unification ministry has claimed Chung's remarks were based on "open information," rejecting claims that they were based on intelligence shared by Washington.

The defense ministry rejected Rep. " "It is not appropriate for a USFK commander to lodge a protest against a (South Korean) defense minister in terms of South Korea-U.S. military diplomacy, nor is (his claim) true," the ministry said in a notice to the press.

It added South Korea and the U.S. are regularly in communication in regard to key issues and "thoroughly" abiding by the military intelligence-sharing pact between the two countries, without specifying the details.