hankyoreh

By Seong Han-yong, political correspondent

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) put out an official statement on July 10 regarding the transcripts it released from a 2007 inter-Korean summit between then South and North Korean leaders Roh Moo-hyun and Kim Jong-il.

In it, the agency, headed by director Nam Jae-joon, argued that Roh effectively abandoned South Korea’s claim to the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the West (Yellow) Sea. It also explained its reasons for illegally releasing the transcripts on June 24, saying it was “profoundly concerned about deepening schisms in the public and a serious negative effect on national security.”

With its latest move, which comes two days after President Park Geun-hye demanded that the NIS “reform itself,” the organization is repudiating all efforts by the National Assembly and the ruling and opposition parties to contain the fallout from the transcript release. On July 9, the main political parties agreed on a procedure for releasing the content of the presidential archive materials by having five lawmakers from each party read them and report on them to the National Assembly Steering Committee.

The statement, issued in the name of an NIS spokesperson, explained that the transcript showed Roh and Kim “repeatedly talking about withdrawing the militaries on both sides from the waters between the NLL along the northern side of Baeknyeong Island and the so-called ‘West Sea Maritime Military Boundary Line’ argued by North Korea, turning these waters into a ‘peace zone’ for joint fishing monitored by police.”

“Nowhere in the transcripts do they talk about forming ‘joint fishing areas with the same distance and area relative to the NLL,’ as some have been claiming,” the statement continued.

The reasoning is that because Roh did not talk to Kim explicitly about “the same distance and area,” this meant he was giving up on the NLL. A press release by the NIS even included a map showing that only South Korean warships would be withdrawn to a line north of Deokjeok Island if a joint fishery zone was established.

The NIS went on to say that if the two sides’ armed forces were withdrawn between the NLL and the West Sea Maritime Military Boundary Line as per the transcript, it would result in a “serious situation” in three respects.

“First, the withdrawal of only South Korea’s Navy to the waters north of Deokjeok Island would mean abandoning not just the NLL but sovereign waters and exclusive fisheries in the waters in between,” it read. “Second, it would risk the lives of citizens and military personnel in the Five West Sea Islands, and third, the inability to detect submersible activity in the waters would mean that not just Incheon International Airport on Yeongjong Island and the port of Incheon but the West Coast and the entire greater Seoul area would be exposed to the threat of enemy infiltration by sea.”

In a breathtaking leap, it went on to say, “It is just like how withdrawing South Korean military from the current armistice line south of Suwon/Yangyang and turning the area between the armistice line and Suwon/Yangyang into an ‘inter-Korean management zone’ would be an abandonment of the armistice line.”

The statement continued, “Despite this truth, there has been a deepening controversy with regard to these summit transcripts over the lifeline that is the NLL, without any consideration for national security. Some are even contending that the content was distorted.

"We disclosed the transcripts, which are part of the public record, according to lawful procedure in our determination to uphold national security, believing it to be more beneficial to the national interest to state the truth accurately, and we hope it will be understood as an indication of our loyalty to the state."

The surprise statement appeared to be aimed at presenting the case that the release of the transcripts on June 24 was a result of Roh’s statements on "abandoning" the NLL, and that the process was procedurally sound. The NIS appears to be struggling to change a large wave of public opinion contending that Roh did not abandon the NLL, with an overwhelming number of critics at home and abroad blasting the organization for releasing the transcripts. The statement also seemed to have the purpose of answering a recent flood of demands from the political opposition for Nam’s dismissal, taking advantage of confidence in Park, who appointed him.

But the organization also contradicted itself, arguing that its own illegal actions were legitimate while taking Roh’s supposed abandonment of the NLL, as a given ultimately echoing North Korea’s logic. By the NIS’s reasoning, the two leaders agreed to give up the line, which makes North Korea’s claims legitimate.

In an interview with the Chosun Ilbo on Oct. 9 of last year, Blue House national security chief Kim Jang-soo was quoted as saying, "At the inter-Korean defense minister talks in November 2007, [North Korean] Minister of the People’s Armed Forces Kim Il-chol said, ‘How can your Defense Minister talk that way when even President Roh Moo-hyun says there’s a problem with the NLL?’"

The NIS also said it was "highly unfortunate that there is still a controversy even after the National Intelligence Service, which was the subject of numerous issues raised over political involvement and eavesdropping under past administrations, has gained the public’s trust through reforms and changes."

"Since Nam Jae-joon took office as director, we have independently carried out intensive reforms to reestablish ourselves as a state intelligence organization responsible for national security, including departmental mergers, organizational changes, changes to our personnel system and duty regulations, and reforms with our employees," the statement said.

"Because the controversies have continued in spite of this, as with the allegations about online posts during the presidential election, we plan to create our own task force within the NIS and begin a second round of reforms, soliciting advice from experts here and abroad and holding hearings to develop a plan for changes."

Explaining the nature of its planned self-reform, the statement said the NIS would be "stepping up its proper duties as an intelligence organization in a situation of inter-Korean conflict, such as anti-espionage and anti-terrorism activities and the identification of industrial spies, while working to eliminate any grounds for questions about political involvement.

“If there were mistakes made in the past, we plan to work actively to fix them and come back as a new national intelligence organization.”

Democratic Party spokesperson Bae Jae-jeung blasted the statement as “the ultimate example of the National Intelligence Service’s arrogance.”

“The National Assembly is currently reading the transcripts of the two leader’ conversation according to legal procedure in order to put the NLL controversy to bed. Now the NIS is actually showing how foolish is to ask them to fix their own shop when they insist on making excuses to cover up their own illegal acts,” she added.

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