Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced on the 11th that he was taking the scandal over the alleged leak of classified US government documents very seriously and that he was continuing close cooperation with allies and partners.
He also disclosed that the leaked documents dated February 28 and March 1.
“We take this issue very seriously,” Austin said at a joint conference after the “2+2” meeting between the foreign and defense ministers of the United States and the Philippines.
“Nothing can stop us from keeping America safe,” he said.
It is the first time that the head of the US Department of Defense, who is directly involved in the leaked documents, has publicly stated his position regarding this situation.
“I first received a report on the unauthorized leak of sensitive and classified data on the morning of the 6th,” said Minister Austin. down,” he explained.
He also said, “I commissioned this case (investigation) to the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Justice opened a criminal investigation.”
In response to the question, “Why did the intelligence agency does not know that the related documents were floating online before receiving the report on the 6th,” he said, “The dates of the documents we know are February 28 and March 1.” I don’t know if there were other documents on the table.”
“As we continue our investigation, we’ll know, but the documents we’re focusing on right now are the February 28th and March 1st documents,” he said. “At the moment, we’re not sure exactly who had access at that time, but until we find the source and extent of it, we’ll see.” He said he would continue the investigation.
The US government is in an embarrassing situation due to allegations of leaking military secrets related to its allies and partners, but it is showing its position that some of them have been fabricated.
The leaked documents also included suspected eavesdropping and wiretapping of high-ranking officials in the National Security Office of Korea, and Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop discussed the suspicion in a phone call at the request of Minister Austin on the 11th, Korea time.
Kim Tae-hyo, first deputy director of the National Security Office, said on his visit to the United States that day that the ROK-U.S. assessment was consistent that many of the documents related to Korea were forged. revealed
White House National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby said in a briefing that day, “The Department of Defense acted very quickly to address any issues that could have a more dangerous impact on national security with these leaks.” One of the first steps taken was to refer it to the Ministry of Justice for a criminal investigation.”
“As I said yesterday, we are reaching out and communicating with relevant allies and partners at a very high level,” Kirby’s coordinator said when asked if the leak would harm relations with allies and partners.
Previously, Kirby Coordinator said in a briefing the day before that some of the leaked documents were fabricated, but he would not say whether all documents, including those that do not appear to have been manipulated, are valid.
But Chris Meager, assistant secretary to the Secretary of Defense, told reporters the previous day that the document appeared to be like the format used to give high-ranking officials.
Meanwhile, Coordinator Kirby “saw no indication that Egypt was providing lethal weapons capabilities to Russia,” in response to US media reports that leaked classified documents contained information that Egypt was secretly planning to supply shells and ammunition to Russia. denied it.