A U.S. intelligence agency is suspected of spying on key allies including South Korea and the European Union, a British newspaper reported Sunday.

The revelation touched off a fresh round of fierce criticism from Washington’s allies and could seriously dent confidence in the world’s most powerful nation.

The Guardian, citing documents leaked by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, reported that the U.S. installed wiretapping devices at 38 embassies and missions to collect sensitive inside information. The offices allegedly tapped by the NSA include Asian allies such as South Korea, Japan, India and Turkey as well as its partners in Europe.

According the U.K. paper, the NSA documents called the embassies and missions “targets” and had detailed information on the agency’s spying methods.

One of the methods described in a 2007 paper was codenamed “Dropmire,” used to eavesdrop on the EU Embassy in Washington. This method uses a bugging device implanted on a Cryptofax, a make of encrypted fax machine, at the EU office used to transmit cables to the respective foreign affairs ministries in European countries.

The Foreign Ministry has yet to officially respond to the wiretap allegations as of Monday afternoon, saying it should verify the facts first.

According to the Associated Press, officials from European countries said the allegation may scuttle negotiations on a trans-Atlantic trade treaty between the U.S. and Europe.

The U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence said it would bilaterally discuss the matter with EU member states through diplomatic channels.

By Yoon Min-sik
(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)