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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken boards a plane out of Hanoi, Vietnam, on April 16. (AP/Yonhap)

The US is arguing that the recent leak of classified intelligence documents does not contain anything that damages the alliance with South Korea.

“We have engaged with our allies and partners since these leaks came out, and we have done so at high levels, and we have made clear our commitment to safeguarding intelligence and our commitment to our security partnerships,” US Secretary of State Tony Blinken said at a press conference in Vietnam on Saturday.

“What I’ve heard so far at least is an appreciation for the steps that we’re taking, and it’s not affected our cooperation,” Blinken continued, emphasizing that he had “not heard anything that would affect our cooperation with allies and partners.”

Although the leak of the classified US intelligence documents raised suspicions of Washington having eavesdropped on discussions held by officials in South Korea’s National Security Office, the government in Seoul has yet to express any regret about the incident.

Regarding these suspicions, the National Security Office’s first deputy director, Kim Tae-hyo, told reporters on Tuesday at Dulles International Airport near Washington that the office “hasn’t found any evidence of ill will from our ally the US.”

The South Korean government is also drawing the line at the possibility of putting the eavesdropping allegations on the agenda at the upcoming South Korea-US summit.

However, according to a report by the Associated Press, the intelligence leak is casting a shadow on Blinken’s upcoming attendance at the G7 foreign ministers meeting to be held in Karuizawa, Nagano, Japan this Sunday through Wednesday.

While previously serving as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton also had to explain the US government’s position to countries like Argentina, Israel, and Italy in the wake of the WikiLeaks incident in 2010, which involved a significant leak of US intelligence documents and also revealed controversial US wiretapping activities abroad.

Meanwhile, an article published by the Wall Street Journal on Saturday explained how the US has been facing major difficulties in renewing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. This particular section allows US intelligence agencies to conduct intelligence activities, including but not limited to wiretapping, abroad.

In other words, US intelligence agencies are authorized to carry out intelligence activities in other countries, under Section 702, which, in turn, is supervised by a special foreign intelligence surveillance court that approves the rules the program operates under.

The section, however, is set to expire later this year unless the US Congress reauthorizes it.

According to experts quoted by the Wall Street Journal, Congress is, at the minimum, hinting at the possibility of strengthening the control system in response to this incident.

By Jung E-gil, senior staff writer

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