South Korea’s president speaks on U.S. intelligence leak

President Biden is sent to hold a summit with South Korea's president as they Mark the 70-year alliance between the two countries ahead of their meeting I sat down with President Yoon for an exclusive interview tonight South Korean president Yoon sakyol in the U.S set to celebrate his 70-year Alliance but now facing a new test that American Intel Leak with what appeared to be intercepts of conversations between South Korean officials I know Washington and Seoul have suggested that maybe these ta

pes were modified but it sounds like the U.S was spying on South Korea is there any other explanation Lester I also receive reports that there are things that are different from the facts about this incident and I understand the investigation is going on by the U.S government officials and our security officials are closely Consulting with the U.S counterparts about this I believe this matter is no reason to shake the Ironclad trust supports the South Korea and U.S Alliance because it is based o

n shared values like freedom do friends spy on Friends generally speaking I don't think that in the real world it is something that is prohibited in state affairs the most important thing is the trust when you have that trust you don't get it shaken these intercepts if they are what they appear were conversations about Ukraine have you changed your stance as to whether your country would be willing to supply lethal weapons to Ukraine and are you feeling pressure from the White House Lester I can

tell you that there's no such pressure as for South Korea we are joining forces with the International Community to uphold freedom and human rights and we are providing assistance to Ukraine therefore if the time comes when we must also Supply some lethal weapons to Ukraine when the situation on the Battlefront changes there won't be a situation of South Korea turning away from the joint effort of the International Community I also asked about recent North Korea missile tests do you think that

the U.S is paying enough attention to deterring a North Korean attack on the south foreign yes definitely since my inauguration we're continuing our consultations with the United States about ways to enhance the effectiveness of the U.S extended deterrence and I can say that we're already making great strides in this realm and in the past when the threat was far away maybe we might have some time but now now the threat is right at the front of our door he says the common goal the important thing

is that we have to make North Korea never dare to resort to its nuclear weapons then Flashpoint over Taiwan with fears growing of a possible Chinese invasion you recently angered the Chinese by suggesting that Taiwan was really a global issue much the way that North Korea is as opposed to something just between China and and Taiwan do you do you take back those words or is that still your position so the Korean government's position toward the cross Strait it has been consistent we believe the

peace and stability around the Taiwan Strait is really important and we cannot agree with any attempts to change the status quo by force part of my interview with President Yoon thanks for watching our YouTube channel follow today's top stories and breaking news by downloading the NBC News app