An early meeting with Trump... "If you support weapons, you will start with defensive weapons."

[Anchor]
President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President-elect Trump talked on the phone and agreed to meet soon.

Discussions were also held on cooperation between South Korea and the U.S., the alliance between South Korea and the U.S., and North Korea trends.

In the meantime, President Yoon expressed his intention to provide defense weapons first if the North Korean military dispatched to Russia provides weapons to Ukraine, depending on the degree of involvement of the North Korean military in Russia.

I'm reporter Lee Jong Won.

[Reporter]
The phone call between President Yoon Suk Yeol and President-elect Trump lasted 12 minutes from 7:59 a.m.

After exchanging words of blessing, such as congratulations on the election and the safety of the Korean people, they agreed to set a date and place for a meeting soon.

[President Yoon Suk Yeol] What are you going to do about this, so we're going to meet in the near future and talk about a lot of information and options.]

Specific agendas included discussions on the South Korea-U.S. alliance, security cooperation between South Korea and the U.S. and Japan, and recent trends in North Korea.

President Yoon emphasized the close partnership of the South Korea-U.S. alliance, evaluating that the first Trump administration contributed to the solid cooperation between South Korea, the U.S. and Japan.

President-elect Trump also responded by saying that he expects to continue good relations between South Korea and the U.S. and that he needs South Korea's help in the U.S. shipbuilding industry.

In particular, the North Korean issue was first mentioned by President-elect Trump, and the conversation proceeded.

Information on a series of garbage balloons, missile provocations, and the Ukraine war situation in which North Korean troops were sent were shared.

In the midst of this, President Yoon made it clear that weapons aid is also an option, saying that the method of supporting Ukraine should be changed step by step depending on the degree of involvement of the North Korean military.

[President Yoon Suk Yeol] We don't rule out arms aid. I think we need to see more of the situation in the future. If we provide weapons support, we are considering defensive weapons first anyway.

Many analysts said that Trump's election, which has opposed Ukraine aid, has complicated our calculation method, which seems to have emphasized that it is a matter to be decided from the perspective of our security.

However, President Yoon said he will establish a perfect South Korea-U.S. security posture with the new administration in Washington to protect our freedom and peace.

I'm YTN's Lee Jong Won.


Filmmaker: Choi Young-wook Kim Jong-wan
Video editing: Ma Young-hoo
Design: Jeon Whee Lin