U.S. to Include Korea in 'Five Eyes' Spying Pact

The U.S. House of Representatives wants to include Korea and three other countries in the "Five Eyes" intelligence-sharing alliance. It currently includes Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the U.K.

The House Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations stressed the need to include Korea, Germany, India and Japan in the alliance when it submited last month a draft amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for next year.

"The committee directs the director of national intelligence, in coordination with the secretary of defense, to provide a report... not later than May 20, 2022, on current intelligence and resource sharing agreements between the United States and the countries of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom; as well as opportunities to expand intelligence sharing with South Korea, Japan, India, and Germany."

The alliance aims to build a united front against China and Russia.

The committee said the "threat map" has been changed significantly since the launch of "Five Eyes" and the main threat now comes from China and Russia. It reiterated the importance of closer cooperation in the face of rivalry between superpowers and need to tighten alliances with other democracies with similar beliefs.