This could get very interesting:

National Intelligence Service Director Kim Man-bok on Tuesday resigned after admitting that he leaked the transcript of a purported conversation he had with North Korea’s head of clandestine activities in the South, Kim Yang-gon. The leak to the JoongAng Ilbo of a strikingly innocuous conversation between the two Kims in Pyongyang on Dec. 18 came earlier last week; Kim Man-bok’s admission that he leaked a confidential state document is the first by a South Korean intelligence chief. [Chosun Ilbo]

So why did Kim secretly go to Pyongyang before the South Korean election you may ask?  He says he went to Pyongyang to erect a monument near a tree Roh Moo-hyun planted when he visited North Korea and released the tape to the media to prove it.  I can’t believe this guy actually thinks people will buy that he traveled all the way to North Korea to erect a monument.  Keep in mind this guy secretly traveled to North Korea before the South Korean presidential election and shortly after it was reported the North Korean spy chief secretly visited the Blue House. 

The Chosun Ilbo sure isn’t buying the excuse:

Even some officials in the current administration are unconvinced. Why, they ask, would the chief of the state intelligence agency go all the way to Pyongyang in secret to erect a stone monument only a day before the presidential election? Many observers speculate Kim must have had some urgent business to resolve before the next president was elected. According to one intelligence source, Kim had “a deal to close” with the North, connected with a rumored underhand agreement the Roh administration made with Pyongyang to make the inter-Korean summit happen.

A series of concrete suspicions are being raised within political circles and inside the NIS. During the Kim Dae-jung administration, it was revealed that the Kim administration handed US$500 million under the table to Pyongyang to realize the first inter-Korean summit. Rumor has it that the Roh administration might also have delivered off-the-books payment in a way that would not so easily come to light.

Some speculate that during his latest visit to Pyongyang, the NIS chief conspired with North Korean officials to make consistent statements concerning such rumors. A former intelligence officer said, "During a transitional period, he did something that was bound to cause a problem. This means he had a crystal clear reason for doing it."  [Chosun Ilbo]

I originally thought they may be trying to coordinate their cover up of the Il Shim Hoe spy ring before Lee Myung-bak comes to power.  However, the Chosun Ilbo’s explanation makes perfect sense as well, that once it became clear the corruption charges against Lee Myung-bak would not effect the election the North wanted their final monetary payment delivered for agreeing to the October inter-Korean summit before Lee takes power.  Now that the payment has been delivered the Blue House probably has the shredders working overtime which is probably why Lee warned the outgoing Roh administration to not shred anything. 

I think things could turn out to be very interesting if Lee Myung-bak decides to do an entire governmental audit to determine what secret funds were going to North Korea.  Like I said this has the potential of becoming very interesting. 

You can read a whole lot more over at One Free Korea as well.

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