[YTN Radio News Fighting Bae Seunghee]
□ Broadcasting: FM 94.5 (07:15 - 09:00)
□ Broadcast date and time: November 6, 2024 (Wednesday)
□ Host: Attorney Bae Seung-hee
□ Cast member: Kim Gun, member of the People's Power
* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information.
[YTN Radio <News Fighting, Bae Seunghee]> Please clarify that it's about the interview.]
◆ Attorney Bae Seung-hee (hereinafter referred to as Bae Seung-hee): The world is paying attention. It's the U.S. presidential election. It is being held today local time. There will be an exit poll soon. Tensions are also rising due to North Korea's dispatch of troops to Russia, and we will talk with Kim Gun, a former diplomat and the ruling party secretary of the Foreign Affairs and Communications Commission, at the studio. Hello,
◇ Rep. Kim Gun of the People's Power (hereinafter referred to as Kim Gun): Nice to meet you. It's Kim Gun.
◆ Bae Seung-hee: Are you watching the U.S. presidential election? I'm looking at it. What do you expect?
◇Kim Gun: We need to see the results because the situation is much more up and down than expected. No one expected
◆ Bae Seung-hee: Yes. At first, when he was shot with this bullet, Trump said in a speech that he was going to be Trump now. I think it's completely changed since then.
◇Kim Gun: The Democratic Party changed candidates and Vice President Harris came out, and after mid-October, President Trump was on the rise again, and at the end of the day, Vice President Harris followed, so now it's 50-50-50:50.
◆ Bae Seung-hee: Especially in the United States, isn't the political situation divided by region? Yes, that's why it's called Gyeongsangju, so please tell me the characteristics of this Gyeongsangju.
◇Kim Gun: So competing states are usually Democrats and Republicans, whereas they are states that can support Republicans or Democrats depending on the election, and those seven are representative right now. So what you're going to see in this election is that the counting of votes begins because there's a time difference from the eastern region, right? There are now three competing states in the east. Where is it? One is Georgia, Georgia, North Carolina, and the most important Pennsylvania in the world,
◆ Bae Seung-hee: Pennsylvania is here.
◇Kim Gun: Bencevenia now has the largest number of electors with 19 votes, so if President Trump wins all three of them, then President Trump wins.
◆ Bae Seunghee:
that ends here
◇Kim Gun: It ends here, but it doesn't seem easy anymore. And then now, especially in Pennsylvania, if President Trump doesn't win, it's the Blue Wall from the next, and then Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, these three states have traditionally supported the same candidates. Right. So, if Harris wins those three, Harris will win again.
◆ Bae Seung-hee: You will be elected. It's like this again. And there's another one. Contested share price
◇Kim Gun: There are two other states in the Sunbait area like Nevada and Arizona, so a total of seven states, but Nevada and Arizona are in the west, so it probably takes time to get the votes counted. In particular, Nevada will take a lot of time.
◆ Bae Seung-hee: I see. You mentioned Pennsylvania, is there a reason why this Pennsylvania is a rival state?
◇ Kim Gun: Pennsylvania has a large black population now and a strong Democratic support, while rural areas have a strong conservative tendency and then a strong Republican support, so it always goes back and forth. So
◆ Bae Seung-hee: I see. It starts in the east, so if the exit polls for the vote count come out, will it be almost reflected as usual?
◇Kim Gun: But in fact, there is no law that exit polls must be accurate when it's so close, so I think we need to look at the actual results of the vote count.
◆ Bae Seung-hee: I see. Then we're fighting for 19 votes in Pennsylvania.
◇Kim Gun: That's right. Yes
◆ Bae Seung-hee: But now, depending on who will be Vice President Harris and former President Trump, isn't it because of security issues that we are so interested in? What will be the impact on security, diplomacy and security?
◇Kim Gun: Well, once a new government is established in the United States or Korea, it promotes a new policy, so there is such a policy coordination agency in the Korea-U.S. alliance. So there have always been various challenges, but haven't we overcome them well over the past 70 years and continued to strengthen the Korea-U.S. alliance? Personally, I think that's why I think positively. I think that no matter what government the United States has, the Korea-U.S. alliance will be strengthened.
◆ Bae Seung-hee: However, former President Trump will nearly increase his contribution to defense costs by 10 times compared to now. I made this argument. If former President Trump is elected, isn't there a possibility that he will reverse this concluded defense cost negotiation, although he has already reached a settlement?
◇Kim Gun: That's always a possibility. Even after we signed the Korea-US FTA, didn't we renegotiate it again? So there is such a possibility now, but I think we will be able to negotiate well because we have reached a defense cost-sharing agreement between Korea and the U.S. and we will now negotiate based on it
◆ Bae Seung-hee: I see. North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile six hours before the U.S. presidential election. It is interpreted as an intention to show off their presence and maximize bargaining power with the new U.S. administration. Why is he doing this?
◇Kim Gun: No, North Korea has always been like that. It's not why you're doing this, it's always been like this. It's always been like that, and now when a new U.S. president comes out, and then during the presidential election, so I try to show my presence, but North Korea's goal is always the same. Because he showed his ability to threaten the United States, so he negotiated with a new U.S. president, and now Kim Jong-un's goal is that. The goal is to weaken the so-called Korea-U.S. alliance by negotiating under the precondition of recognizing North Korea's nuclear possession, and I don't think it will work much. For me, it's
◆ Bae Seung-hee: Then, if Harris becomes Vice President, will he be threatened by Kim Jong-un?
◇Kim Gun: Kim Jong Un's threats will not work no matter who becomes president
◆ Bae Seung-hee: You don't feed him. However, former President Trump has been showing off his bromance with Kim Jong-un. Wouldn't this North Korea prefer Trump's election?
◇Kim Gun: It's possible. However, I don't think we will make a policy on who will become president in the United States. Even if North Korea becomes President Trump now, he said it was a bromance last time because Kim Jong-un came out to negotiate with the United States with the position of complete denuclearization. So, under the other preconditions, there is a high possibility that no matter what d is done, it will be a deal that will not be welcomed domestically in the United States, so I don't think it's very likely that dialogue between the U.S. and North Korea will be activated like this under the current circumstances. Yes.
◆ Bae Seung-hee: In order to respond to North Korea's nuclear threat, the political community also needs to arm itself with nuclear weapons. There are also voices of such claims, but lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun is. He insisted that limited nuclear armament should be carried out on the premise of dismantling North Korea's nuclear weapons. How do you see this?
◇Kim Gun: I understand well how you feel when you say that. Because North Korea has changed now, doesn't it directly threaten us by developing tactical nuclear weapons? That's right. In fact, about 20 years ago, some in our society said that North Korea's nuclear weapons are not aimed at us. There was also a story about why we should pay attention to it when it is unified later. But isn't it clear now that North Korea's nuclear weapons really threaten us? Under these circumstances, we should do something. That's why the theory of nuclear armament is coming out. But I don't think that's the best way. First of all, the ROK-US alliance can curb North Korea's nuclear threat through solid extended deterrence, so I think we should push for that now.
◆ Bae Seung-hee: I see. I think you've been watching the U.S. presidential election. There were early voting in the U.S. as well. How do you feel to see this early voting management?
◇Kim Gun: I didn't take a closer look at the early voting management, but wasn't the early voting rate very high? Of course, it was lower than during COVID-19, but that's why early voting in each country is becoming normal for now, and isn't it the same for our election? So, we need to strengthen the management of early voting. We need to make sure there's no controversy. That's what I thought.
◆ Bae Seung-hee: Regarding this, the CNN exit poll results are out now. In Indiana, you mentioned, Trump is 71.8% and Harris is 26.9%.
◇Kim Gun: Indiana is not a rival state.
◆ Bae Seung-hee: No, in Kentucky, Trump is 60.9% Harris is 37.8
◇Kim Gun: There is also an experience value
◆ Bae Seung-hee: This is how it comes out. Did it come out a little less?
◇Kim Gun: I can't evaluate it with that percentage. Those are the states where President Trump wins, so
◆ Bae Seung-hee: I see. We'll take a look at it as soon as it comes out. I hope there's one contest that you mentioned earlier. All right, during our show. This time, the Ministry of National Defense found that more than 10,000 North Korean soldiers dispatched to Russia have moved to the front line area. In Ukraine, the North Korean military is moving faster to deploy front lines. The North Korean army was killed during the fighting. There are even comments like this. Please explain the situation. What's the situation?
◇Kim Gun: First of all, what I'm figuring out is that the North Korean military was deployed to Kursk and other places, and specifically, there were reports that fighting killed them.I don't think that came as a definite information yet, but we have to see it first. But I think those things will happen soon.
◆ Bae Seung-hee: How can the chimney be smoky?
◇Kim Gun: Yes. I think there's a possibility that it's true now.
◆ Bae Seung-hee: Actually, there is a possibility. If this happens, shouldn't our government also make a position?
◇ Kim Gun: Our government is already making a stand. I'm putting it out, but I think there are three problems with this. First, it is a violation of international law for North Korean troops to be sent to the war in Ukraine. The second is actually taking young people from North Korea and putting them out as bullets, right? I don't think this can happen even in terms of humanity. The most serious thing for us is that if there is any foreign currency that North Korea will eventually gain from it, then its experience in combat on the ground, or any military skills that it will receive in return from Russia, those are all security threats to us. That's why it can't be called someone else's business.
◆ Bae Seung-hee: The Korean government says it's an observation team and sends it. How can I explain that part?
◇Kim Gun: Isn't it something we should do without explanation? As a country, I think that if the two Koreas are dealing with military activities and the North Korean military is doing something abroad, it is of course necessary to understand how those activities are carried out and then do them for our security, so there is no need for a theoretical theory on such things.
◆ Bae Seung-hee: The Democratic Party should win the National Assembly's consent by saying this is a roundabout dispatch. It's in this position. Why are you saying it publicly?
◇Kim Gun: When it comes to dispatch of troops, I think dispatch is a time when it is done with the purpose of participating in a certain military or military battle or with the possibility of participating in the battle. This is actually a business trip. In a way, for understanding, don't soldiers go on business trips abroad a lot? To understand the local situation
◆ Bae Seung-hee: That's the part.
◇Kim Gun: That's how I understand it
◆ Bae Seung-hee: I understand the Democratic Party's point. The government said it could consider providing weapons of destruction aid to Ukraine. There is also a risk that the moment we provide weapons support, we will also participate indirectly in the war against Ukraine. How do you see it?
◇ Kim Gun: We're already participating indirectly. The transition to Ukraine is because it provides a lot of humanitarian aid, economic aid, and we are also expressing our willingness to participate in the reconstruction of Ukraine. That's why it's not new, but until now, we have made a clear stance on Russia. What that is is is that we cannot accept Russia's high-tech military technologies that threaten our security or provide such support to North Korea. Since we have said that we have no choice but to consider various measures since we have done something that harms our interests, I think we should continue to show that the knife is stuck in the sheath in that sense.
◆ Bae Seung-hee: I see. You're speaking very softly and strongly. China expressed its position on North Korea's dispatch of troops to Russia, saying that the development of relations between North Korea and Russia is their job. From China's point of view, the close relationship between North Korea and Russia must be very uncomfortable.
◇Kim Gun: I don't think China is that comfortable. Because strengthening Russia's influence or intervention on the Korean Peninsula is not what China wants, and such cooperation between Russia and North Korea could intensify or bring about the current Cold War situation in the region, right? China hates it. China doesn't even want to use the term Cold War in the region, and then the cold war that North Korea claims keeps disagreeing. Because China's economy is connected to the world's economy, and for China's benefit, it must be managed under the U.S.-China conflict, so it is not very helpful to China's interests in that respect, so I can't openly oppose it, but I don't think I'm in favor of it.
◆ Bae Seung-hee: As you said, North Korea is sending troops to Russia because the two countries have now signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty. Is there a possibility that Russia will intervene in the event of an emergency on the Korean Peninsula?
◇ Kim Gun: So you might think that the possibility of the treaty is higher now than it was in the past, but there are various conditions in the treaty, including the so-called domestic law of Russia and the United Nations. There are conditions and then I think Russia's interests in the Far East are Korea and Korea. When the war ends, I think we should continue our diplomatic efforts to organize relations with Russia and North Korea.
◆ Bae Seung-hee: Will it be organized well?
◇Kim Gun: Of course, we have to make such efforts and I think it will pay off.
◆ Bae Seung-hee: Yes. China suddenly allowed Korean citizens to enter visa-free until the end of next year. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said that they didn't expect it. Why are you doing it?
◇Kim Gun: So basically, China has a strong desire to continue to violate what North Korea is doing now, and to manage its relationship with South Korea. So, not all of a sudden, but he was already actively participating in the Korea-China-Japan summit, so Prime Minister Lee Chang also visited Korea and was closely communicating with the strategies of the first vice minister of the Korea-China foreign ministers' meeting. I think I'm doing it with the idea of managing Korea-China relations in that extension.
◆ Bae Seung-hee: Relations with China continue to deteriorate with the Yoon Suk Yeol government in the Democratic Party. Weren't you making this argument? I'd like to hear from you whether that's right or if the relationship between Korea and China is recovering well in that regard.
◇ Kim Gun: Yeah, so if we keep pretending that it's not one way or the other in a conflict between the U.S. and China, this doesn't come under pressure from both sides.
◆ Bae Seung-hee: That's right. It's definitely on the side
◇Kim Gun: That's right. So it's a bat-like situation with Lee Seo-gu.
◆ Bae Seung-hee: It's a big deal if you become a bat.
◇Kim Gun: But now we're in that situation, and the fact is that we're under a lot of pressure. In the Moon Jae In administration, China was disappointed at first when the Yoon Suk Yeol administration said that the fundamental of our foreign relations is the Korea-U.S. alliance. I didn't understand, so communication was a bit problematic in the early days of the government, but over time, I think China is starting to understand that it is not our intention to neglect relations with China, but to have a mutual respect relationship with China on the solid basis of any Korea-U.S. alliance. So there's a lot of communication, so there's a little bit of pain in that direction, so I'm not that worried about Korea-China relations.
◆ Bae Seung-hee: Didn't you also discard the forest fire policy?
◇Kim Gun: Forest fire policy
◆ Bae Seung-hee: It's also called policy
◇Kim Gun: The word forest fire policy is in China
◆ Bae Seung-hee: It was written in China, but the Yoon Suk Yeol government just didn't do that.
◇Kim Gun: No, I've never discarded it or used words like that. So, to put it simply, this is basically a relationship of mutual respect, so we have to respect our interests, and then we have to respect our interests fully.
◆ Bae Seung-hee: Then if you compare the current relationship between China and the Moon Jae In government and the Yoon Suk Yeol government, the Yoon Suk Yeol government is more desirable. I think Korea-China relations are more desirable. Can I evaluate it like this?
◇ Kim Gun: I don't think it's that definitive, but a kind of diplomacy is a long process. It's always a long process, so I think that the difficult situation between Korea and China, which started with the THAAD deployment of the previous administration under President Park Park Geun Hye, is now finding a new balance point through the Lee Moon Jae In administration and the Lee Yoon Suk Yeol administration.
◆ Bae Seung-hee: Then let's get better. The balance point doesn't decrease, does it?
◇Kim Gun: I think we're going in the direction of improvement.
◆ Bae Seung-hee: Okay. Thank you for your words today. This has been Kim Gun, a member of the People's Power. Thank you.
◇Kim Gun: Thank you.
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