[Issue ON] The North Korean military's front line is 'reading the count'...Frontline Transport Situation After Kursk Gathering

■ Host: Anchor Kim Youngsoo Kim and Anchor Lee Ha-rin
■ Starring: Kim Dae-young, Military Expert Member of the National Institute for Strategic Studies

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

[Anchor]
There are reports that North Korean troops are moving to the front line following the gathering of North Korean troops in Russia's Kursk region, where Ukraine controls part of the country. It looks like it's going to be on the battlefield in a few days. For more information, I will look into it with Kim Dae-young, a military expert at the Korea Institute for National Strategy. Welcome.

[Daeyoung Kim]
How are you?

[Anchor]
Thousands of North Korean soldiers gathered in Kursk. The front line seems to be on the horizon. What is the situation now?

[Daeyoung Kim]
So, in fact, a significant number of North Korean troops have moved to Primorsky Krai, and in a way, they have conducted local adaptation training, and now, maybe, the Ukrainian government has talked about that a lot before. I think it will be put into Kursk. So in a way, I think we're training again before we go into battle. And the Kursk front is a very important situation for Russia, because it was originally Russian territory, but suddenly Ukrainian forces entered in August, and in a way, mainland Russia was attacked. Of course, there are many fronts, but the North Korean military is likely to be deployed to the most important one among them, and the other thing is whether to deploy them this week or go through battlefield training once and then around November or early November.

[Anchor]
You said you would put it in as early as today. According to Ukrainian President Zelensky. But isn't it known exactly what mission you'll be in charge of?

[Daeyoung Kim]
That's right. However, in terms of the current war, there are a lot of stagnant front lines in Ukraine and Russia now. So, in the case of Russian troops, they often dig into the front line in the form of a storm troop, but in fact, the loss of Russian troops is enormous. That's why, if the North Korean army were to be deployed in the Battle of Kursk, it would probably take on the same role as a kind of stormtroop.

[Anchor]
I told you in the YTN news report that Ukraine released the wiretapping data that Russia is sending North Korean soldiers in trucks to the front line, according to the wiretapping content. Then, doesn't that mean a significant number of North Korean soldiers have already arrived in Russia?

[Daeyoung Kim]
That's right. So about half of them seem to have moved close to the front line now, and depending on how the Russian military operates, it is likely that they will be deployed to the front line in the form of a stormtroop.

[Anchor]
However, the language is not communicating, and the command is said to be the general manager of the North Korean military, and Deputy Chief of General Staff Kim Young-bok has entered Russia and will conduct the command.

[Daeyoung Kim]
In a way, this is actually one of the things that you don't mention a lot, but many North Korean soldiers are going now, so who will lead the operation? So, if it is really a mercenary form, it should be directly controlled by the Russian military, but as you said, there is a problem with language communication, so the fact that Kim Young-bok, the deputy chief of the Korean People's Army, went is seen as a kind of operational command through the deputy chief of staff. So there may be a plan to give a certain combat zone to the North Korean military and you guys take command so that you can achieve these operational goals. Or there seems to be a good possibility that it simply went to the issue of cooperation.

[Anchor]
You're known as Kim Jong-un's closest aide. What does that mean in itself?

[Daeyoung Kim]
In the Kim Jong-un era, promotion was so fast that it could be called the Kim Jong-un line to the North Korean military, and another thing is that this is a very important issue in the case of North Korea's dispatch to Russia. Then, we have to send a really reliable confidante, and considering that, I would like to evaluate that it is a very close Kim Jong-un line even within the North Korean military.

[Anchor]
If this is the deputy chief of the general staff, is it like a deputy commander in Korea?

[Daeyoung Kim]
That's right. And another thing we need to pay attention to is that in a way, we are now in charge of special operations forces. When it comes to special operations, it can be said that he is a veteran of the North Korean military, and if you add that he is a close aide, it may be one of the things that Kim Jong-un thinks is very important.

[Anchor]
Ukraine is reacting sensitively right now. It's going to reach thousands right now. Abandon your weapons now, in Ukrainian with the meaning and pronunciation of the Korean word, in a way, it's defection of the North Korean military. I'm saying I'm going to do that now. Will it work?

[Daeyoung Kim]
I actually saw it, too, and it was about 3 A4s. It can be said to be quite a large amount, but from Ukraine's point of view, Ukraine is not in a good military situation right now. Russia also has a bad military situation right now. As a result, in order to lower morale, North Korean soldiers who are being deployed must have psychological warfare, and these documents may be part of that, and in a way, they are being distributed a lot through social media. In a way, it's an internal and external message that the Ukrainian military is ready for these North Korean troops.

[Anchor]
On the other hand, North Korean defectors from the North Korean military say they will ask the government to send them to Ukraine. They say they're going to hold a press conference tomorrow, but they're confident in psychological warfare, they're going to go and help the North Korean military defect, so they're going to hold a press conference now, but there's not a lot of possibility for this to become a reality, right?

[Daeyoung Kim]
I think there's a good chance. Since the rumor of dispatch came out, there have been such North Korean defector groups that I know, and they have asked a lot about how they can't find a line to contact the Ukrainian government. And another problem is that Ukrainians and North Koreans have very different cultures and backgrounds. Even if the Ukrainian military conducts psychological warfare against the North Korean military, there is a possibility that it will not work. But the problem is that North Korean defectors have lived in North Korea and have almost the same lifestyle and pattern, so if these people help the Ukrainian government in this area, psychological warfare can be very effective. So, without knowing the truth, the Ukrainian government has no choice but to find these people, and in a way, I believe that the needs of both sides are at a point of contact.

[Anchor]
However, Ukraine is currently restricted from leaving the country as a travel-free country. But just because you ask me to send you a troops now, you can't send a troops.

[Daeyoung Kim]
It's more like dispatch than dispatch. However, for example, there may be ways to help from the back in Poland or other places, or there may be people who ignore the government's policies and run directly to the front line. This is actually an area of imagination, but the Ukrainian government now seems to have a strong need for the Korean government or a group of North Korean defectors to conduct a strong psychological war against the North Korean military dispatched now.

[Anchor]
Thousands of North Korean soldiers are now dispatched to Ukraine, and what many experts are concerned about is that many victims could come out.

[Daeyoung Kim]
That's right. In fact, in the case of the war in Ukraine, the aspect itself is as high-altitude as at the end of the Korean War in the past, and in fact, the two countries are fighting fiercely over three or seven kilometers of land.

[Anchor]
That's right. Local warfare is continuing.

[Daeyoung Kim]
And another problem is that one of the characteristics of the war against Ukraine is that thousands of drones fly around the front lines a day. Therefore, whenever troops are gathered, they are shelled there to destroy the attack or defense itself. So, for example, if the North Korean military comes out as a real stormtroopers, a large number of victims can be caused by precision strikes by drones.

[Anchor]
I wonder what the internal atmosphere of each military is like now, but the Ukrainian military intelligence bureau has released eavesdropping data, and when the Russian military refers to the North Korean military, it plans to support it by calling it a K battalion, and provide weapons and ammunition. I don't understand. This part has been wiretapped. How should I look at it?

[Daeyoung Kim]
There could be enough disagreement within the Russian military. And if you look at the name K Battalion, there are actually a number of Russian mercenaries who have been deployed to the Ukrainian front. In the case of these mercenaries, they actually operate in combination with the Russian military. If you look at the name K battalion like this, it should be considered that the North Korean military battalion and the unit are independent. What's more important is whether such a high-ranking North Korean general who has been dispatched now will move such a unit while exercising operational command or whether the Russian military will move the K battalion. This is actually an important point.

[Anchor]
It is said that the North Korean troops who are dispatched are in their teens and 20s. And some experts say it's a special forces unit, while others say it may be North Korean troops who don't have that much combat capability. What do you think, expert Kim Dae-young?

[Daeyoung Kim]
I'm sure it's a special forces unit, but I'm also surprised to see the videos posted on SNS because Korean special forces have very good physical conditions. As you know, there are entertainment programs that are very fit, but compared to Korean special forces, I've seen a lot of people who look very young and are small. So will they be able to use real combat power? And from Kim Jong-un's point of view, the best troops like the real Altoran must be reserved for their own protection or, for example, local warfare in case of emergency, so such an elite unit actually remains in North Korea and has sent worse units than that.

[Anchor]
Do you think there is a high possibility of sending additional troops if the North Korean military's sacrifice increases?

[Daeyoung Kim]
I think there's a good chance of that. Now, we need to look again at what the purpose of this dispatch is. First of all, what North Korea wants is money. In a way, North Korean soldiers are sent as a means of getting cash. Even people in some North Korean defector groups talk about it. From Kim Jong-un's point of view, the greater the North Korean military's sacrifice, the better. Because if you are killed, the Russian government will probably give you more money as a consolation prize. I think one salary will be about 2,000 dollars, or 2,000 dollars a month.

[Anchor]
I heard mercenaries from other countries get that much.

[Daeyoung Kim]
That's how much it seems, but most of the salaries will probably be taken by the North Korean authorities, and if there are casualties, there will be another consolation prize equivalent to casualties. I can't help but think that these are probably very important, especially from Kim Jong-un's point of view.

[Anchor]
The families of soldiers who sent troops to North Korea must be worried. Wouldn't there be internal opposition and agitation?

[Daeyoung Kim]
So if the battle intensifies, this may be imaginary territory, but many people, many North Korean soldiers, are likely to be deserters or captured by Ukrainian forces. So if you do that, the Ukrainian government can't have these people in Ukraine either. Then we have to bring it to Korea, and then if the news of such a bring spreads to North Korea, this is also very shocking for Kim Jong-un.

[Anchor]
Lastly, isn't Korea also in a situation where it has announced its position to review support for lethal weapons? Is that what Ukraine is hoping for now?

[Daeyoung Kim]
In fact, not only Ukraine but also the international community is desperately demanding Korea's support for lethal weapons.

[Anchor]
Then, if we support weapons of killing, wouldn't it actually be an intervention?

[Daeyoung Kim]
That doesn't seem to be the case. If you look closely, the United States and NATO member states are actually supporting Ukraine through training or weapons rather than direct military support. And our government has also attended many meetings in the form of observers, especially in relation to weapons support from the United States and NATO member states. So the truth is, our government already knows all the weapons that Ukraine really needs. If the North Korean military appears on the front line, it seems that the South Korean government can no longer postpone it. If that happens, it seems that we should also consider supporting lethal weapons.

[Anchor]
I see. That's all for the news on the dispatch of North Korean troops. I joined Kim Dae-young, a military expert at the Korea Institute for National Strategy. Thank you.