Trump's Handling of Classified Information Under Scrutiny... Leak of "Nuclear Submarine Near North Korean Waters" Also Raises Concerns

Confidential documents seized from home... Controversy over secret handling during tenure
Iran rocket facility tweets, counterterrorism tactics explained, surprise mention of new weapons, etc.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] Former U.S. President Donald Trump (76) came under scrutiny again for his careless handling of classified information after confidential documents were seized from his Florida residence.

Local media reported on the 12th (local time) a series of incidents during Trump's presidency where his lax management of classified information embarrassed U.S. intelligence agencies.

One notable example was the leak of the location of nuclear submarines, which are typically treated as top-secret military security information. It is extremely rare to disclose the operational areas of nuclear-powered submarines, considered a core asset of U.S. military power.

In 2017, during a phone call with then Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, Trump mentioned North Korea's provocative movements, saying, "We have a lot of firepower there (around the Korean Peninsula). There are two submarines. The world's best two nuclear submarines." This was later revealed in a transcript of the call obtained by Philippine media.

The leak of high-resolution images of the Imam Khomeini Space Launch Terminal in Semnan Province, Iran, is also cited as an example of poor information management.

On August 30, 2019, Trump suddenly posted high-resolution images of the rocket launch site, which had been considered classified until then, on Twitter. The post included a comment stating, "(The fire) was not caused by the U.S."

A fire had occurred at the launch site during rocket preparation, killing three scientists. Even though no one asked, Trump appeared to deny U.S. involvement by stating this. His attitude led to speculation that the U.S. might have been involved in Iran's rocket failure.

There were also cases where information provided by allied countries was leaked to third parties.

In 2017, Trump leaked information related to the extremist militant group Islamic State (IS) to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak at the White House. This information was identified as highly classified intelligence provided to the U.S. by Israel. According to media reports, Israel was outraged upon learning that the information had been passed to another country.

In 2019, Trump also disclosed previously unrevealed facts about nuclear weapons manufacturing to Bob Woodward, a journalist-turned-author who exposed the Watergate scandal.

Trump claimed, "I made nuclear weapons that no one in the U.S. had made before," adding, "Putin (Russian President) and Xi Jinping (Chinese President) have never even heard of them."

In the same year, following the operation to eliminate IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, he revealed how many helicopters were deployed and how special forces entered al-Baghdadi's residence.

Particularly problematic was his disclosure that U.S. forces obtained location information through IS's phone and internet usage records. Military experts pointed out that revealing the method of intelligence acquisition increases the risk of counterattacks exploiting that information.