The Deepseek logo is seen in this illustration taken on Jan. 29. Reuters-Yonhap

The Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) model DeepSeek provided different answers to sensitive questions depending on the language. For example, defining kimchi's origin as Korea when asked in Korean, but claiming it is Chinese when asked in Chinese, Seoul's spy agency said Sunday.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) said it has also found the AI service provides its advertisers with unlimited access to users' personal data and such information is subject to submission to the Chinese government upon its request under Chinese law.

The NIS released its assessment of the technological verification of DeepSeek amid growing controversy over security concerns surrounding the service, which has prompted South Korean authorities to block access to the site.

When the NIS asked where kimchi originates, DeepSeek responded, "It is a signature Korean food imbued with its culture and history," according to the agency.

But when asked the same question in Chinese, it said, "The origin is not Korea, but China," and "It is related to Korea," when asked in English, the NIS said.

On a question in Korean about China's Northeast Project, a history initiative criticized by Korea as distorting regional history, DeepSeek pointed to "various perspectives" among neighboring countries due to historical differences.

However, in English or Chinese, it said the project is a "legitimate initiative for revitalizing China's northeastern region in line with its national interests."

Asked in Korean about Korea's Dano festival, DeepSeek answers that it is a Korean tradition, while it responds in Chinese and English that it is a Chinese traditional holiday.

Other commonly used AI services, such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and CLOVA X, developed by Korea's Naver, all provided the same answers regardless of the language, the agency said.

DeepSeek also collects users' keyboard input patterns, which could potentially be used to identify individuals and user data it collects, like chat records, could be sent to certain servers in China.

It is designed to store all user inputs, share user data with advertisers without restrictions and there is no clear limit on how long the data can be stored, raising concerns about user privacy, the NIS said.

The agency also pointed out that DeepSeek's terms of service indicate that users' personal information and input data can potentially be accessed by the Chinese government.

The NIS has sent notices to all government agencies in South Korea calling for caution regarding security when using generative AI tools, such as DeepSeek.

The agency said it will conduct a thorough review of the technological stability of DeepSeek and plans to provide, if necessary, further explanation to the public on its results. (Yonhap)