(LEAD) S. Korea's top envoy to U.S. acknowledges limitations in high-level communication with White House

Washington, October 12 - South Korea's chief diplomat in the United States, Ambassador Kang Kyung-wha, admitted on Monday that there are limitations in communication with the White House. This statement came during a parliamentary audit at the South Korean Embassy in Washington, in response to inquiries about the dialogue between Seoul and Washington.

Ambassador Kang's remarks came in the wake of increasing speculation about potential friction in bilateral relations. The concerns surfaced after South Korea's National Intelligence Service revealed it was excluded from a June trilateral meeting, which included Japan, to discuss North Korean cyber threats. The agency claimed Washington had requested its exclusion.

Furthermore, local reports suggested that the United States and South Korea have experienced signs of tension in the intelligence sector following the disclosure by Seoul's Unification Minister Chung Dong-young in March about a North Korean uranium enrichment facility in Kusong, North Korea.