NIS denies report that US has restricted intelligence sharing on North Korea

South Korea's National Intelligence Service on Sunday denied a report that the United States has restricted intelligence sharing on North Korea with Seoul to missile-related information only.

According to Yonhap, the NIS said in a statement distributed to media that morning that the report claiming "only North Korean missile information is currently being provided due to US restrictions on intelligence sharing" was "completely false."

"We again make clear that, beyond the portion of intelligence the government has already confirmed as subject to sharing restrictions, active intelligence cooperation between South Korea and the United States is ongoing across a wide range of areas — including North Korean missiles and conventional forces, North Korean trends, international relations, cyber and counterintelligence," the NIS said.

The United States had partially restricted intelligence sharing on North Korea — including on nuclear facilities — in March, after protesting remarks by Unification Minister Jeong Dong-young about North Korea's uranium enrichment facilities. The NIS statement indicated that intelligence sharing outside that restricted category continues.

The NIS also pushed back against a separate claim that the overall volume of US intelligence on North Korea had declined. "That is not true. Despite the restrictions on intelligence sharing in the specific area mentioned, the total volume of US intelligence provision has not decreased," it said, adding that intelligence sharing between the two countries "is being conducted in a mutually beneficial, two-way manner across many areas."

South Korea's Ministry of National Defense also addressed the same report, saying in a statement issued to media Saturday night that the coverage did not reflect the facts. "There are no restrictions on intelligence sharing between South Korea and the United States for maintaining a robust military readiness posture against North Korea," the Defense Ministry said. "Any intelligence subject to partial sharing restrictions is being sufficiently supplemented through the military's significantly enhanced independent intelligence capabilities."