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John Kirby, the White House National Security Council spokesperson, speaks at a briefing. (EPA/Yonhap)

The White House is claiming that its allies are appreciative of the way the US government is handling the leak of classified documents. This is being interpreted as the result of countries the US apparently eavesdropped on, including South Korea, having not strenuously protested the spying nor actively demanded apologies or measures be taken to prevent a recurrence.

Calling the exposure of classified material “regrettable,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby stated in a briefing on Monday (local time), that the leak “has not resulted in a breach of trust or confidence between us and our partners or in our shared efforts to advance shared goals around the world.”

He also added that US allies have “appreciated the seriousness with which we’re taking this issue.”

Kirby went on to say that President Joe Biden has directed senior members of his administration to reassure allies and partners and answer all their questions. He urged the media to be cautious while reporting, saying that “none of this material belongs in the public domain,” and that hasty reporting could lead to “serious national security consequences.”

He neglected to apologize or promise to prevent such issues from happening again, and only stated that US allies “appreciate” how Washington has dealt with the leak.

South Korea and Israel are the only US allies about which the classified information were labeled as SIGINT (signals intelligence, or intelligence acquired through electronic equipment), meaning that the information was obtained through communications interception, whether in the form of wiretapping or other means.

The Washington Post recently reported that the US had regularly eavesdropped on conversations by UN Secretary-General António Guterres as well.

The US Department of Defense, the source of the leaked documents, declined to mention whether it would release a statement of apology or not. When asked if the US would offer an apology if its apparent eavesdropping on South Korea’s National Security Office discussions were verified as true, Sabrina Singh, the deputy defense spokesperson said that “this is an ongoing review” and “that’s been referred to the Department of Justice.” She also stated that the US has “a very good relationship with South Korea.”

Singh also replied to a question asking about what the evidence was for proving that the classified document was forged or fake, given that US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup agreed that the classified document was substantially forged, saying that she thought the reporter was “asking about the validity of some of the documents that have leaked online,” and replied that she was “not going to speak to specific documents that are circulating.”

All she stated was that “the documents are being assessed and reviewed, to see if any documents were further manipulated.” She also stated that it would take 45 days for any initial findings about this issue to be released.

Such a brazen attitude from the US can be traced back to the fact that South Korea, the biggest victim of the leak, has not lodged an official protest to demand an apology and measures to prevent any recurrence of such affairs. In fact, South Korea seems to be siding with the US, shielding them from blame.

Kim Tae-hyo, the National Security Office’s first deputy director, stated that the defense chiefs of South Korea and the US agreed over the phone on the assessment that much of the information released was falsified. During a visit to the US on April 11, Kim mentioned that Korea “hasn’t found any evidence of ill will from our ally the US.” On Saturday, he said that the two countries have decided to mark this incident as an “opportunity” to build trust and make the upcoming summit more substantial and fruitful.

Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, also said on Saturday that “in the conversations I’ve had so far, I have not heard anything that would affect our cooperation with our allies and partners.” The US went on to state that it was communicating with allies to clarify “the safeguard of information” and “security partnerships.”

This clearly states their intent to be vigilant about classified leaks, while ignoring the real heart of the matter: eavesdropping on allies.

By Lee Bon-young, Washington correspondent

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