The death toll of "Imaginary Transcendence" ended up...North Korean parents start to get agitated [Y transcript]

■ Host: Kim Sun-young Anchor, Jeong Chae-woon Anchor
■ Appearance: Kim Geum-hyuk, former Minister of Veterans Affairs, aide

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

◇Anchor> A handwritten letter found in the arms of a dead North Korean soldier has been released. We prepared a graphic. This is what it's about. My friend Song Ji-myung, who celebrates his birthday on Russian soil, leaving the arms of his beloved Joseon, loving father, and mother. It's written like this. I truly wish you good health and wish you a happy birthday. There is a note like this. This letter contains longing for a desperate homeland, but I think it can be said to be a letter that has not been sent. If you look at it, Russia is called Rosia?

◆Kim Geum-hyuk> That's right. In North Korea, it is called Rossiya after the Russian remarks. When you ask people who have actually learned Russian, they pronounce it Rosciya. The letter was released by the Special Operations Forces of Ukraine. It's a bit meaningful. What the Special Operations Forces revealed was not a general drone or shell that killed North Korean soldiers, but a military accident killed by direct combat by special operations forces and various items of the soldiers killed. It is said that the contents of that letter were in the notebook. Ukraine will disclose other contents in the notebook later, so we can wait and see what will come out. As you said, the letter in the notebook was written on December 9th and was written to a colleague named Song Ji-myung, and what we can infer from the contents is that the colleague is also a North Korean soldier sent to the Russia-Ukraine war. I think it's a pity to think that maybe this soldier who is currently fighting in a different area, and that's why he had to send a letter.

◇Anchor> contains longing for parents, friends and colleagues, but will the family in North Korea know that this soldier is dead?

◆Kim Geum-hyuk> If you comprehensively analyze all the information that has been released so far, parents in North Korea. Hasn't about 12,000 troops been sent to the Russia-Ukraine war at the moment? Those 12,000 parents don't know exactly where and what their children are doing. I can make an analogy. And a certain amount of information went in through the North Korea-China border. Therefore, it is now only a rumor that has been passed on inside North Korea. That's why it is said that there are many parents who are much more anxious. The North Korean authorities have not officially informed them that they went to a certain unit or a certain part of Russia. Therefore, there is a high possibility that North Korea will keep silent about the fact that it was killed. Because suddenly there have been so many deaths, and including the injured, isn't there about 3000 people now? I have to notify my parents about the safety of about 3,000 people, but it is quite a burden for North Korea to announce that they were killed or injured when I did not even inform them of the previous situation or the dispatch of troops. Therefore, it is understood that North Korea is currently putting a lot of effort into finding a suitable basis for sending troops to Russia to North Koreans.

◇ Anchor> Known as soldiers at a fairly young age, you can see how much you miss your family just by looking at the short letter, but if you are blocked from telling your family news, your psychological agitation will grow as time goes by.

◆Kim Geum-hyuk> That's right. Even before the North Korean military's chronic structure itself was dispatched, that is, when serving as a soldier in North Korea, there are not many means of contacting their families. It's not like soldiers can use smartphones except for two or three letters and correspondence a year. Because of that.

Excerpted from
: Lee Mi-young, editor of the digital news team

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