DENIAL, CLARIFICATION IN KOREA SCANDAL

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP81M00980R002000100012-6
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 10, 2006
• Sequence Number: 12
• Publication Date: May 27, 1978
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved For Release 2006/08/10: CIA-RDP81 M00980R002000100012-6
DATE_ ,_
Z
PAGE
Denial, Clarification in Korea Scandal
Associated Press
A South Korean embassy spokes-
man yesterday labeled as false any
implication that a former ambassador
cabled Seoul that he was distributing
cash to U.S. congressmen.
"I can state categorically that
there are no cables to support such
allegations and that all the allega-
tions are therefore false," the spokes-
man, Sudoc Kim, said.
At the same time, Rep. Bruce
Caputo (R-N.Y.) tried to clarify his
Thursday remarks that House inves-
tigators have incriminating South
Korean diplomatic cables that were
intercepted and decided by U.S. in-
telligence.
tuputo, a member of the House
Committee on Standards of Official
Conduct, said he knows investigators
have cables but he has not personally
seen any cables from the South Ko-
rean embassy or'Seoul.
He also said he was speculating
when he told reporters that the
cables were intercepted and decoded
by the National Security Agency.
Caputo said the point he was try-
ing to make was that he believes
committee investigators have enough
information to justify investigating
"a pattern of suspicious involvement"
of eight or more current House mem-
bers with former ambassador Kim
Dong Jo.
"I should have been more careful
about some of the other things I said
leading up to that point," Caputo
said in an interview.
The former ambassador has been
accused of trying to give congress-
men envelopes stuffed with $100 bills,
but Caputo refused to say if investi-
gators have direct evidence that Kim
gave cash to the eight congressmen.
Two years ago, congressional in-
vestigations of U.S. intelligence ac-
tivities disclosed that NSA has inter-
cepted embassy cables of allies as
well. as unfriendly governments.
The investigations also disclosed
that NSA. had gathered other types
of intelligence, including commercial
cables, so that its information cannot
be presumed to be diplomatic cables.
`.'I don't know how we got the
information, but I know it includes
information gathered by the NSA,".
Caputo said.
MORI/CDF
Approved For Release 2006/08/10: CIA-RDP81 M00980R002000100012-6