Seoul Says There's No Reason To Trust US To Tap South Korea's Presidential Office

South Korean Presidential Office in Yongsan, Seoul. (Source: Presidential Office)

JAKARTA - There is still no strong evidence that the United States has been eavesdropping on conversations at the South Korean Presidential Office, a country official said.

The official said there was no reason to believe that the United States was carrying out dangerous activities in Seoul.

"From what the Korean government has determined so far, there is no reason to conclude that the US has intercepted us," the official said during a meeting with reporters in Washington, asking not to be named, reported the Korea Times April 14.

"We believe no malicious activity has been carried out by the US," the official added.

Previous news reports said US intelligence services may have eavesdropped on conversations at South Korea's Presidential Office, citing classified documents allegedly leaked from the US Department of Defense and shared on social media.

The official insisted that intelligence gathering activities were not always dangerous, saying all countries might be involved in such activities.

"Every country has the possibility to gather intelligence about us. We also cannot guarantee that we are not involved in such activities against other countries," the official said.

"This means that based on what has been determined by the Korean government, there is no evidence to conclude that the US has intercepted us. That is, we consider so far no malicious activity," the official added.

The official also emphasized that the leaked information did not disclose sensitive intelligence information.

"It is clear that the information disclosed does not match the facts as far as I understand," the official said.

"Reciprocal trust between Korea and the US in sharing information and preparing for the (Korea-US) summit goes well," the official added, referring to the upcoming summit between Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and US President Joe Biden which is planned to be held in Washington on April 26.

Meanwhile, Kim Tae-hyo, deputy major national security adviser at South Korea's Presidential Office, previously said there was no reason to believe the US had acted with malicious intent against Seoul, also noting that many documents allegedly leaked appeared to have been falsified.