[927] May 30, 1980, Friday, AM cycle - The Associated Press

[80518]

Document 927

The Associated Press

May 30, 1980, Friday, AM cycle

SECTION: International News
LENGTH: 915 words
HEADLINE: Diplomatic Sources See Sharp U.S.-Korea Split
BYLINE: By RICHARD PYLE, Associated Press Writer
DATELINE: SEOUL, South Korea
BODY:

Diplomatic sources on Friday accused the head of the Korean CIA of lying to the Korean press about the U.S. role in a military crackdown here, producing what the sources called the sharpest split in U.S.-Korean relations in nearly a decade.

In another development, the government announced the establishment Saturday of a military-dominated 25-member council to conduct the nation's affairs under continuing martial law rule.

In Washington, a senior government official who asked not to be named said the Carter administrtion was urging the South Korean leaders to adopt a liberal political line. "We believe that the stability of Korea and the safeguarding of their security interests and ours requires that they move in the direction," he told reporters before it was announced in Seoul that the special council had been installed.

The dispute over allegations that the United States was aware of the planned crackdown on dissidents centered around Lt. Gen Chun Doo-hwan, the defense security commander and acting director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency. A diplomatic source said Chun told Korean editors and publishers a few days after the May 17 action that the United States knew about it in advance.

"That simply was not true and Chun knew it," said the source, who declined to be identified.

The U.S. Embassy issued a statement claiming some Korean newspapers "seriously distorted" the U.S. role in the crackdown by saying that American officials knew about it ahead of time and approved of it.

The statement also cited several recent instances in which South Korea took policy actions which caught the United States unaware, including an "internal coup" led by Chun in December that deposed a group of "moderate" generals.

Western diplomatic sources said the embassy statement reflected the exasperation within President Carter's administration over Korean generals' increasing reach for power in South Korea.

The military extended martial law and arrested political opponents May 17 in response to massive student demonstrations demanding free elections and democratic reforms.

The embassy statement said U.S. Ambassador William Gleysteen had been kept ignorant of plans to arrest political figures and student protest leaders and learned of the meeting at which the decision was made to extend martial law only 30 minutes before the meeting was held. The statement added, "There was no mention of intended arrest of political leaders."

The statement said some newspapers suggested that Gleysteen had expressed "understanding" or "approval" of the crackdown in a May 23 meeting with South Korean lawmakers.

"This is a serious distortion of what he said," the statement said. "In discussing the event of May 17 (at the meeting), the ambassador first said he reserved judgment on the need for emergency martial law and tough measures to deal with the student demonstrations.

"He then expressed strong disapproval of the arrest of political leaders, the closing of the National Assembly and general political crackdown thereafter.

"He reminded assemblymen that these views were reflected in comments by the official State Department spokesman in Washington May 18," the statement said.

The statement singled out no Korean leaders by name and the embassy press spokesman, Norman Barnes, refused to elaborate on it, saying he was "not going to push this thing further."

However, a well-informed Western source said the statement in effect accused Chun of lying to the press about Gleysteen's statements.

The May 17 edict gave the military near-absolute power in the conduct of governmental affairs and triggered new and more violent demonstrations including the bloody nine-day rebellion in the southern city of Kwangju, which ended last Tuesday with paratroopers taking the city away from the insurgents.

At least 290 persons are believed to have died in the Kwangju incident, the worst civil disturbance in South Korea's modern history.

The sources said the split probably was the worst between the two allied governments since the late President Park Chung-hee arbitrarily dissolved the National Assembly, rewrote the constitution and set himself up for sure reelection in 1972, a move that similarly angered U.S. officials hoping to promote South Korea's move toward democracy.

The embassy statement was delivered personally to most of Seoul's local news media offices by press officer Barnes and an aide. A source said that step was intended to impress on the Koreans the importance which the embassy placed on the subject.

"This is not an entirely new situation -- the Korean generals not telling the Americans what they're up to -- but it's worse now than it has ever been," said the source.

The announcement reporting the installation of the powerful council had been expected, following adoption of a resolution by the Cabinet on Tuesday.

President Choi Kyu-hah will be chairman of the council, called the Special Committee for National Security Measures, and it will include eight of his 20 Cabinet ministers.

But it also will have 14 military officers and three retired generals. Among the active generals on the council are Chun, who is expected to be the real power, and Lee Hee-sung, martial law commander and army chief of staff.

According to the announcement, all council decisions are subject to approval by the full Cabinet, but it appeared certain the Cabinet would be little more than a rubber-stamp body for the council.