[News UP] North Korea sends troops to Russia... Evidence of "Korean questionnaire, video of North Korean language"

■ Host: anchor Yoon Jae-hee
■ Starring: Yang Wook, a researcher at Asan Institute for Policy Studies,

* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information. Please specify [YTN News UP] when quoting.

[Anchor]
North Korea issue, let me point it out with an expert. Let's share it with Yang Wook, a researcher at Asan Institute for Policy Studies. Please come in.

Last Friday, our intelligence authorities officially confirmed the dispatch of North Korean troops. About 10,000 people are expected to be dispatched, but 1,500 people were transferred first. This is what our surveillance equipment is seeing, right?

[Yang Wook]
That's right. Details came out through the NIS report. In particular, if you look at the press release, you can see a few satellite photos, and among them, as you can see on the screen, satellite photos that were not indicated by the source are actually our reconnaissance assets, and they were taken with reconnaissance satellites. So what was a little unique was that when North Korea moved its troops, we expected it to go through aircraft or trains, but the Russian side provided warships, four landing ships and three frigates. They sent a very large fleet of troops. If it wasn't for that troop movement, it might not have been easy to see such a large-scale movement.Anyway, it can be seen that Russia was in a hurry to move like that. Anyway, I would like to say that we were able to grasp such actions by the information collection ability of our government agencies.

[Anchor]
After the announcement of the NIS, various circumstantial evidence supporting North Korea's dispatch has been released, and Ukraine continues to disclose it. The video of the North Korean military receiving the goods has been released for now, but how do you see the authenticity?

[Yang Wook]
I think it almost definitely shows the North Korean military as it is. I looked inside the video a few times.Ma has a detailed voice, but if you recognize it, you will hear the North Korean way several times. There are some examples of that on the screen right now. And then especially on the left side of that screen right now, this screen that distributes Russian military equipment and military uniforms and equipment. If you look at it, you have a relatively small physique, and then you look at your face and things like that, this is definitely not a Russian. It's obvious that you must be a North Korean. As an example in here, I told you earlier, but don't fall for it now, come out, man. There are definitely Korean words like this. So in the end, I can tell you that these are one of the definitive proofs of North Korea's dispatch.

[Anchor]
It is known that the Russian side has also provided a questionnaire in Korean to provide military uniforms, but I think we can predict that the communication problem is also big.

[Yang Wook]
That's right. North Korea sends excellent officers to major military schools like Blue Jae Akamedi.Ma doesn't mean that the entire North Korean military speaks Russian. Most of you should think that you can't do it, so I write it to check the size of the military uniform like that, but if you look closely, it's a little similar to the North Korean way, but it's different. It says it's the size of the Joseon Dynasty, but if you look on the left, it says it's the size of Russia. But actually, in North Korea, we don't use the word Russia. I write Rossia. When I look at why it's in there like that, I think the Russian translated it and wrote it anyway, and the person who translated it studied in Korea or put it in Google or a translator and said that.

If you look at the next one, don't you think there's a lack of summer? So the fact that the word "summer" came out is another evidence that North Korean soldiers had already been doing that and that activities before this dispatch was confirmed. Before sending troops, some North Korean troops are already in the country to teach North Korea's new equipment on the spot. So, isn't there a report that there were actually deaths among them? In the end, I think this is the evidence that these activities have existed before to show those things.

[Anchor]
There is a high possibility that some of the summer hats or summer uniforms in the questionnaire were already included when they had to wear summer uniforms, right?

[Yang Wook]
That's right. In early October and late September, reports began to show that several confirmed scenes showed that North Korean personnel died during fighting. Next, if you look at it recently, isn't there a rumor that about 18 people fled or defected? So when I look at those parts, I can tell you that there were already a certain number of people working. I've already definitely assumed that the North Korean military was already operating the equipment that the North Korean military sent to Russia before such a large-scale dispatch.

[Anchor]
It is known that special forces have been dispatched now. It's known as the Storm Corps, so please explain what kind of unit it is.

[Yang Wook]
Before I tell you about the Storm Corps, there is one thing I want to say in our media right now that the Storm Corps will be sent on a large scale, which is clearly correct. It is true that some of the units entered this time are from the Storm Corps, the so-called North Korean Special Operations Force, but only the special forces have been dispatched, I think this is not true. First of all, we need to check this part. It's kind of a nickname to say storm troop. It's North Korea's 11th Army. If you go back to its roots, it's the Special Eighth Army, so it's based on the very unit that's engaged in various terrorist attacks and sabotage of the South.

After all, the Storm Corps is now a special operations force, or special forces, separated into separate military types like our Army, Air Force, and Navy. Many of them are called storm squads, which are equivalent to the army's personnel, and there are sniping brigades, such as navy and air force, in the special operations forces. So within the Storm Corps, it will refer to units belonging to the Army's Special Operations Force, but there are usually about 10 brigades in it. So alarmists, snipers, and then air combatants. There are these three types of units. Among them, it is known that there are four light infantry brigades, three sniper brigades, and three air pastry brigades.

[Anchor]
Anyway, it's a special forces unit.Should I say that I don't have actual experience yet?

[Yang Wook]
What we can't say about this is that many people say that North Korea has no actual experience, but in fact, if North Korea is watching now, it was sending a lot of instructors to the conflict zone. So, the most representative of all, the Syrian civil war has already occurred in Syria since 2011, so isn't it confusing? Syria is a very long-standing alliance with North Korea. So I heard information that North Korea was operating there to train Syrian government forces, and if you look at it in 2016, the Syrian rebels say this. There is testimony that North Korean units called Cheolma 2 and Cheolma 7 are operating locally.

This will be proof that North Korean instructors were actually operating beyond just training local troops. And I personally assume that even a very small number of North Korean special operations forces were already engaged in combat within Ukraine, although limited.

[Anchor]
Ukrainian media reports that North Korean soldiers will be sent to the battlefield in November, but usually, how do soldiers sent abroad go through field experience and training?

[Yang Wook]
You can think of it like this. When we dispatch troops to Iraq, we don't go to the area immediately, but before we go, we first train in Korea to get used to overseas activities or heat. Then we arrived there and didn't immediately put them in combat or operational areas, but in those cases, we trained together at the U.S. military base in Kuwait, got used to it, and then moved on. The same will be true of North Korea. There is no definitive discussion on which front of Ukraine will be deployed now, but I think there is a relatively high possibility that it will be deployed to the field after receiving some understanding of the local situation. In particular, perhaps the commanders of the North Korean military still opposed sending personnel without receiving some accurate information and getting used to it. You can think of it like this. So, the fact that they are training and preparing in about four regions now seems to indicate that.

[Anchor]
In addition, the NIS confirms that the North Korean troops are given fake identification cards of indigenous people, so why are they paying them?

[Yang Wook]
What North Korea is talking about now is that they are not intervening in Russian troops, not even in the war in Ukraine at all. I've been saying that I've never sent a weapon. He would deny sending weapons, but then of course he wouldn't admit to sending troops. Then, in order to deceive it, shouldn't we create an extroversion that seems like a local Russian? So, as you can see on the screen, it's in the Republic of Yakutya and Turkiye.

Next, the Republic of Buratya. This is Mongolian. In fact, I think this could be different regardless of which way. No matter how you mix it up or how it comes out, the important thing is that even if the soldiers are killed and taken away during the battle later, they don't leave anything to leave behind. Look at that fake ID, it's not North Korea, it's Russian. I can tell you that it's to deceive you in this way.

[Anchor]
Commissioner, you mentioned it earlier.According to local media in Ukraine, there are reports that 18 people have already defected, but there is also a possibility that there will be more chances of desertion in the future by using that fake ID.

[Yang Wook]
I think those parts are very important. In particular, our expertise will probably be needed on the local battlefield. What I mean is that if North Korean soldiers are out there in the end, we have great expertise in how they will be psychologically vulnerable and how to induce them to surrender. So, if possible, newspapers or psychological warfare agents are dispatched from our side, or if that's a little impossible, I think we need at least a way to deliver our advice locally.

[Anchor]
I see. In the midst of this, it is a drone sent by South Korea as North Korea released the photo. Regarding the recent infiltration of the drone into Pyongyang. They're claiming that it's from Korea. You saw the picture.How are you watching Ma?

[Yang Wook]
First of all, let me tell you one thing for sure that the evidence presented by North Korea is very insufficient as evidence. First of all, the drone itself is similar to the drone used by the drone operation command, but I actually saw it in real life.Ma, in the unit. The specifications are subtly different. For example, antennas and these arrangements are different, but in fact, there are detailed differences between the arrangements produced and the quantity. So it's kind of like hand-made. In fact, it's a model that only has about 100 units, but I'll tell you that North Korea can copy it if it wants to copy enough. The possibility of cloning is very high. If I tell you already, it was introduced as a quick acquisition business, but what it means is that the military bought it to quickly operate what the company had already made. So, before the company was introduced to the military several times, exhibitions were brought out and shown, so I can tell you that information about extroversion and such has already been leaked. Even if it was found on the North Korean side in

as North Korea claims, we couldn't provide exact evidence whether it was found near Pyongyang or in the border area, because we had a mission, but we couldn't find out if it was found there. If you look at it now, it's rather in the forest, but it's not found in Pyongyang from the distance. That's right. Next, that model itself is a very small one. As you can see, as you saw on the screen, it's a model that can barely fit even if it's vertically erected on top of the vehicle, but it was thrown at such a small model and used to spray it. It can be said that it's very ridiculous. In many ways, I can tell you that North Korea is trying to forcefully connect our military with the propaganda.

[Anchor]
As you said, I also posted this picture in the Rodong Sinmun while trying to connect it too hard. Informing the inside is apparently encouraging internal solidarity by highlighting the crisis situation, should I look at it like this?

[Yang Wook]
It's internal solidarity, but it's also internal control. So basically, the situation in North Korea right now will be very unstable. Because if you think about it, it seems that they provided a lot of their wartime ammunition and things like that while providing weapons to Russia. And then they even say they're sending elite troops. In particular, they had to go overseas to fight, so they would have selected and sent troops who could fight well among their own troops. If so, the military posture against the South itself will be at its lowest level since Kim Jong-un took power. If so, for example, let's gather the residents even if we intentionally create an atmosphere of such a confrontation or an atmosphere where there may be an invasion right away. I don't think it's a rally, but I think that's actually resident control, too. I think that's how you approach that part.

[Anchor]
This is not only about drones, but also about the dispatch of North Korean troops. At the presidential meeting, a plan to provide weapons of destruction to Ukraine was also discussed. What do you think about this strategy?

[Yang Wook]
Basically right now I'm wondering why arms aid to Ukraine hasn't been provided yet. Of course, I know. I understand that most of you have a perception that we should not be turned away for no reason because of our economic interests or our relationship with Russia.Ma can say that Russia has already become unacceptable to the international community due to the invasion of Ukraine, and that it should not be accepted as it is, especially if it is a democracy. In particular, it is true that we have achieved good results through northern diplomacy and such, but I would like to tell you that our government should change its attitude forward, especially our civil servants, in this situation where the current international atmosphere is going to democracy versus authoritarianism.

[Anchor]
I see. I took a closer look at the North Korean issue.

I was with Yang Wook, a researcher at Asan Institute for Policy Studies. Thank you for talking today.