(LEAD) NSC discusses N. Korea issue, results to be made public: Cheong Wa Dae

(ATTN: UPDATES with comments on N. Korean propaganda organ's message, other details from 8th para; ADDS byline)
By Lee Chi-dong

SEOUL, June 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top security officials had discussions Thursday on the North Korea issue in their weekly National Security Council (NSC) meeting, Cheong Wa Dae said.

The NSC's standing committee session opened at 3 p.m., presided over by Chung Eui-yong, director of national security at the presidential office, according to a Cheong Wa Dae official, who spoke to reporters.

Other participants include President Moon Jae-in's chief of staff, Noh Young-min, and the National Intelligence Service chief Suh Hoon, as well as Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul and Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo, he said on the condition of anonymity.

Also in attendance were Chin Young, minister of interior and safety, and Moon Seong-hyeok, minister of oceans and fisheries.

Asked about Cheong Wa Dae's position on Pyongyang's renewed brinkmanship over the cross-border spread of propaganda leaflets by some activists here, the official asked media to wait for the end of the NSC session. He said a press statement would be released.

It's quite unusual for Cheong Wa Dae to make public the list of attendees at an NSC meeting.

Earlier this week, the North announced it would cut all inter-Korean communication lines, including the purported hotline between Moon and its leader Kim Jong-un, and treat the South as an enemy.

Moon's office has refrained from openly responding to the North's latest threat, entrusting the duty to the Ministry of Unification, which handles inter-Korean affairs.

Earlier in the day, the ministry filed a criminal complaint with police against two North Korean defector groups for sending leaflets, which it views as a violation of the inter-Korean exchange and cooperation act and a danger to public safety.

Critics of the Moon administration's policy on the North have accused Cheong Wa Dae of staying silent to curry favor with the unpredictable communist neighbor.

The Cheong Wa Dae official said it's not appropriate for the presidential office to react to every message from the North that newspapers here often pick up.

He mentioned Uriminzokkiri, a well-known North Korean propaganda outlet. It's just a website run by a propaganda organ operated under the wing of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, which is in charge of Pyongyang's daily tasks on Seoul, he said.

lcd@yna.co.kr
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