Three US officials claimed that Russia or pro-Russian elements were likely behind the leak
\n SEOUL
\nSouth Korea is aware of news reports about a leak of several classified US military documents and it plans to discuss \u201cissues raised\u201d as a result of the leak with the United States, a South Korean presidential official said on Sunday.
\nSeveral classified US military documents have recently been posted on social media offering a partial, month-old snapshot of the war in Ukraine, three US officials told Reuters on Friday, adding that Russia or pro-Russian elements were likely behind the leak.
\nReuters has not been able to verify the authenticity of the documents. The US Justice Department has said it is investigating the leak.
\nOne of the documents, obtained by Reuters, showed details about internal discussions among top South Korean top officials about US pressure on Seoul to help supply weapons to Ukraine, and its policy of not doing so.
\nThe document, which does not appear to have a date on it, said that South Korea had agreed to sell artillery shells to help the United States replenish its stockpiles, insisting that the \u201cend user\u201d should be the US military. But internally, top South Korean officials were worried that the United States would divert them to Ukraine.
\nThe report was based in part on signals intelligence, which suggests that the United States had been spying on one of its most important South Korean allies.
\nThe South Korean presidential official, speaking to reporters, declined to respond to questions about US spying or to confirm any details from the leaked documents.
\nAsked if South Korea planned to lodge a protest or demand an explanation from the United States, the official, who declined to be identified, said the government would review precedents and cases involving other countries.
\nSouth Korea has signed major deals providing hundreds of tanks, aircraft and other weapons to NATO member Poland since Russia invaded Ukraine. But President Yoon Suk Yeol has said that a South Korean law that forbids supplying weapons to countries engaged in conflict makes it difficult to send arms to Ukraine.
\nThe South Korean official said there was no change to South Korea\u2019s policy.
\nYoon is scheduled to meet U.S. President Joe Biden on April 26 during a state visit to Washington.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Three US officials claimed that Russia or pro-Russian elements were likely behind the leak SEOUL South Korea is aware of news reports about a leak of several classified US military documents and it plans to discuss \u201cissues raised\u201d as a result of the leak with the United States, a South Korean presidential official said on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":324898,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-324878","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n