South Korea demands answer from US on new spying allegations

South Korean official said the government wants answers after a New York Times report identified South Korea as a target of the U.S. intelligence agency’s long-running eavesdropping program. The official said Tuesday that Seoul asked Washington to reply over secret 2007 documents released by the Ti mes that designate South Korea as one of the "focus areas" of SIGINT, the electronic eavesdropping program of the National Security Administration (NSA). The documents show South Korea was targeted on the subjects of foreign policy, foreign intelligence and counterintelligence. The official said Seoul has conveyed its concerns to the U.S. and demanded a specific explanation, including details on the background of the secret documents. The New York Times report follows previous media reports in July of allegations the NSA wiretapped the South Korean Embassy and dozens of other embassies in the U.S. The media has also reported allegations the NSA spied on 35 foreign leaders. The documents are part of a larger leak of some 50-thousand items revealed by former Central Intelligence Agency employee Edward Snowden.