Denial of Blue House Prior Notice Allegation Before North Korea Kaesong Liaison Office Explosion... "Closely Monitored North Korea's Response"
[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] Yoon Do-han, Senior Secretary for Public Communication at the Blue House, stated during a briefing at the Press Center on the 18th that reports by some media outlets claiming that the Blue House was notified in advance before the explosion at the Kaesong Joint Liaison Office are not true.
Senior Secretary Yoon said, "The reports that the Kaesong Liaison Office explosion was (pre) notified to the Blue House are completely false. There is no such fact."
He explained, "As already disclosed, after the statement by Kim Yo-jong, First Deputy Director of the Workers' Party of Korea, we closely monitored how (North Korea's response) was proceeding. We continuously observed the liaison office using military reconnaissance assets."
A senior Blue House official said regarding the possibility that the government might have been notified in advance through other channels, "This is the first time I have heard the claim that contact was made elsewhere. If contact had been received, the Blue House National Security Office would have shared it," adding, "We understand that there is no such fact."
Regarding criticism that our government detected abnormal signs from North Korea but failed to prevent the incident, the senior Blue House official refrained from commenting, saying, "It is difficult to disclose whether we had intelligence related to North Korean military and diplomatic matters."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
