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In an official press briefing Tuesday, presidential defense advisor Yoon Kwang-ung expressed "serious concern about distorted media reports on a presidential instruction to investigate the recent problems in radio communications across the NLL, and the leaking of secrets to the press."

The concern over the secret leakage has been conveyed to Defense Minister Cho Young-kil, Yoon said, adding. "We understand the Defense Ministry will take steps separately." "The investigation in question," he went on, "is designed to accurately delve into problems in the military's internal reporting system, and not to make an issue with military operations. We have already made it clear that this is not a subject of the investigation." Yoon said, "Some press reports dividing public opinion and the military while distorting the substance of the presidential instruction are very worrying."

Yoon's remarks made it clear that the presidential instruction called for a detailed probe into the course through which an important report involving radio communication between the two Koreas was interrupted. The remarks indicate that the presidential office thinks that some military quarters, dissatisfied with the additional presidential instruction, attempted to defend themselves, even resorting to leaking secrets to the press.

If intentional report ignoring or intentional secret leakages were verified in the course of the re-investigation, such acts might be defined as those challenging the presidential prerogative of supreme command of the military or disrupting military discipline. Should this be the case, senior military officials might be reprimanded.

"If the whereabouts of responsibility are verified and some are found to be accountable, they will be punished. If no accountability is confirmed, the matter will be settled at that point," Yoon said. The Defense Ministry plans to announce the outcome of the additional investigation Wednesday or Thursday.

(Shin Sung-rok jrshin@chosun.co. )