[Issue ON] North Korea "Pyongyang sky is pierced"...Prepare to blast the inter-Korean road.

■ Host: Anchor Kim Youngsoo Kim and Anchor Lee Ha-rin
■ Starring: Cho Han-beom, chair researcher at the Korea Institute for Unification,

* 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]
North Korea, which had declared that it would cut off all roads connecting the two Koreas, was even caught preparing to blow up the Gyeongui and Donghae lines. We are also raising the level of our remarks by claiming that our drones have invaded the sky over Pyongyang. Let's take a closer look at it with Cho Han-beom, a chair researcher at the Korea Institute for Unification. Please come in.

[Cho Han-beom]
Hello,

[Anchor]
Hello. The Gyeongui Line and Donghae Line road explosions have been detected. Do you think you're actually going to do it?

[Cho Han-beom]
It's not a sign of abnormality. Because if we do a revival now, Chairman Kim turned the two Koreas into war relations at the end of last year's Labor Party plenary session. It's the biggest enemy. And at the Supreme People's Assembly in January, define the territory only as North Korea. Unification, delete the national concept, from the Constitution. This is the situation. But this time, the Supreme People's Assembly did not talk about territory, unification, and ethnicity at all. That's something I couldn't do. But what Kim Jong-un said when he went to Kim Jong-il General Military University on October 7th was this theory of state. Even being conscious of South Korea is creepy. So the deletion of the concept of a unified nation failed, but it was Kim Il Sung's will. But I was talking about the hostile two-state theory. I'll take a different path forever. So we're fortifying the MDL border because we've switched to a war now. And it's breaking all the lines connecting the two Koreas, so we're going to blow it up soon. I'm going to blow it up and cut off the road altogether.

[Anchor]
If you blow it up, this road spans the Demilitarized Zone. I think the meaning of which point to bomb will also be different.

[Cho Han-beom]
Because military action inside the Demilitarized Zone is originally a violation of the Armistice Agreement. But it's not the people who protect it. They said they did it, and they would eliminate all the problems that could be solved in their area on the road connecting the two Koreas. The airspace is now acting on its intention to move to another country.

[Anchor]
If so, when do you think it will be?

[Cho Han-beom]
That's likely to be done when it's ready. It's not a sudden situation, but it's related to the barrier work that was being done now, the demolition of the East Sea line between the two Koreas, and all disconnection work regardless of the drone.

[Anchor]
In the meantime, we've demolished streetlights and fences.

[Cho Han-beom]
It's a consistent work.

[Anchor]
On the other hand, the level of provocation is increasing, saying that drones have penetrated the sky over Pyongyang. The level of speech is also quite high.

[Cho Han-beom]
Because the situation right now is...

[Anchor]
Our military authorities aren't confirming it?

[Cho Han-beom]
But this is what happens when we do the retrofit. Private organizations have sent leaflets since April of this year. That's when the wind blows. Then, on May 28, I sent a garbage balloon. Then, our military did a psychological warfare broadcast. North Korea is no longer sending garbage balloons and dirt. The drone incident broke out in a situation called
.

[Anchor]
What's on the screen right now is the screen released by North Korea.

[Cho Han-beom]
According to North Korea's announcement, drones penetrated Pyongyang three times late at night on October 3, 9, and 10, and Jung-gu Station. If it's Jung-gu Station, it's Gwanghwamun. There is a possibility that the headquarters of the Workers' Party, Kim Jong-un's office, and Kim Jong-un's quarters will be nearby. The center of Pyongyang's sky was breached. So, for us, North Korea is now sending leaflets over the presidential office. So it's not a normal death, from North Korea's point of view. So, it's a cautious assumption, but it's highly likely that those involved, from the commander of the front corps to the Pyongyang Defense Command, have been reprimanded. So North Korea is in an emergency right now, you can see it like this.

[Anchor]
However, although Kim Yo-jong claims that it was sent by Korea, he has not been able to provide evidence.

[Cho Han-beom]
Because it's a gas. I couldn't secure the aircraft, the first one. And the leaflet doesn't say who it is. Then, I don't think North Korea's own drama theory is very unlikely if it's a self-produced drama. North Korea's headquarters building to topple Kim Jong Un's authority has a hole in it? You touch the authority of the highest dignity? So the possibility of a self-written drama is slim. And our military can't check right now.But that's a strategic ambiguity. What kind of problems will arise if our military did it? North Korea is our territory under the Constitution, but North Korea is a separate country that has joined the UN under international law. If you put an aircraft with engines into a separate country, it's an invasion of airspace.

It's an act of combat, to put it simply. So the South Korean military has not yet decided that North Korea has crossed the line in this situation, and there is no way they would do such a thing in this situation. So, it is a strategic ambiguity to confuse the North's response that the South Korean military says it cannot confirm, but it will not confirm whether the South Korean military did it or not. . . For example, if our military did it, you either said you did it or you said you didn't.

[Anchor]
According to Kim Yo-jung's statement, he said that the Korean authorities made or actively claimed or condoned it.

[Cho Han-beom]
You know it yourself. But why can't North Korea stop it because it's a self-contained theory and a North Korean theory? And if they've secured it, they've secured a trajectory, so they took it. Then our air defense network is much denser than that over there, so I'm sure our country also has a pass. So, I'm pushing you and blocking you because you did it, but I'm not saying that you did it. Technically, I'm not saying that you did it.

[Anchor]
Kim Yo Jong's remarks are rising, and the Rodong Sinmun yesterday wrote an article titled, "The whole country is boiling into an active volcano of anger." So even the outraged residents responded, isn't this unusual?

[Cho Han-beom]
It's unusual. North Korea has sent 28 garbage balloons from May 28 to the 11th. I don't let North Koreans know about it. But this time, you have to look at it like this. On the 3rd, 9th, and 10th, clearly, North Korea's statement said that many propaganda leaflets were sprayed over Pyongyang. Then Pyongyang residents must have picked it up. Then you can't stop Sanghwa right now. So, in a situation that cannot be hidden, the two Koreas have been declared a war relationship and are now being fortified, so it is seen as a strategy to use it as an opportunity to unite the system to increase hostility toward the South.

[Anchor]
That's how you can see it. The fact that this is released through the Rodong Sinmun does not mean that residents can see it.

[Cho Han-beom]
Sure. So it's a disgrace for North Korea. Pyongyang's air defense network, which they have directly or indirectly said, is Pyongyang's densest air defense network. [Voiceover] That's actually the case. But the air defense network is dense, but the performance is poor. So I came three times, but I couldn't shoot him down once. So, even with the limitations of their air defenses, the opening of Pyongyang, and the fall of Kim Jong-un's authority, we have no choice but to say that.

[Anchor]
Shall I look at that flyer? What was on the flyer?

[Cho Han-beom]
In that flyer, Kim Jong-un uses luxury goods and then buys food, but in fact, professional North Korean organizations don't make leaflets like that. In a different way than that. That's our language, the language used in Korea, not the language that North Koreans understand. And now North Koreans know that Kim Jong-un and Kim Joo-ae wear high-end clothes. That doesn't have much impact.

[Anchor]
Even if you know everything, isn't North Korea the most sensitive content?

They say there's a picture of me wearing luxury clothes.

It's coming out right now.

[Cho Han-beom]
However, the leaflets sent by general professional North Korean organizations have a much greater impact than that. For example, Kim Jong-un's family tree. In the family tree, my mother's secret is hidden. Then, the false facts of the Kim Il-sung family, these things. They actually watch all South Korean dramas. In that sense, it is difficult to say that it was created by a professional North Korean organization. Paper doesn't use that either. I use much thinner leaflets.

[Anchor]
Then, in your opinion, who do you think sent it?

[Cho Han-beom]
So, the North Korean organizations we know now say that no one did it. So I think that's right. And North Korean organizations don't have that much technology. That kind of drone technology is not a high technology. Maybe a club is enough. It doesn't cost much either. It's about 3 to 4 million won. So, I think it's that side with drone technology. It could be those groups with drone technology, anti-North Korea. Or maybe the group with drone technology collaborated with an anti-North Korean group that we haven't released yet. Also, if a professional organization does it, they don't spray leaflets like that. The whole thing fell down right now. I tied it with a rubber band. Then you can't spray it. It makes it spread from the sky. It doesn't make flyers that way, it doesn't spray like that. So, there is definitely drone technology, but the shear side is a little amateur to me.

[Anchor]
First of all, there is a possibility that North Koreans saw it.

[Cho Han-beom]
It's quite high.

[Anchor]
So, the Rodong Sinmun reports such outraged reactions by North Koreans, and Kim Yo Jong, the vice minister, will face a terrible disaster if the South Korean drones are found again. He's threatening me with such intensity.

[Cho Han-beom]
I tell you a lot about Vice Minister Kim Yo-jong. So thank you.

[Anchor]
What do you think they told you?

[Cho Han-beom]
They said it was a terrible disaster. To put it the other way, they're in a terrible situation right now. That's how much the shock is right now. And you can send it again. That's why I'm telling you not to send it again. So, it seems that North Korea will be quite provocative right now, but if we don't send drones, the situation will be fixed here. But if you say you're going to go again, you're going to attack then. [Anchor] Are you saying the drone is the scariest?

[Cho Han-beom]
The center of Pyongyang is now open.

[Anchor]
We showed you the flyers on the drone and earlier, but the contents of the flyers can also be a big blow to Kim Jong-un or the leadership.

[Cho Han-beom]
First of all, anything hits you. However, in the past, if you listen to the people who have defected to North Korea and the old people, they have found leaflets inside Kim Il-sung University. So it's not yesterday or today. But the important thing is that it came by drone and sprayed it over the office of Chairman Kim Jong-un and the headquarters of the Workers' Party. Then it's a huge wound for North Korea.

[Anchor]
Then, all those military generals who protect Pyongyang and are in charge of air defense will be reprimanded and reprimanded this time?

[Cho Han-beom]
The minimum punishment is inevitable. From the front line. Because during the past COVID-19 period, North Korean defectors went back to Kaesong from Ganghwa Island. At that time, all the lines were reprimanded. So this time, the highest dignity in North Korean, was sprayed over Kim Jong-un's head, so if you could have detonated a bomb over Kim Jong-un's head. It's a huge moon.

[Anchor]
As you said, North Korea sent another garbage balloon, claiming the infiltration of South Korean drones into Pyongyang, and this time a GPS device was found.

[Cho Han-beom]
But you should know that our private organization has been using it for a long time.

[Anchor]
A private organization in our country wore a GPS device when sending balloons to North Korea?

[Cho Han-beom]
It's already been a few years. GPS is a GPS, and when you put it on, you get a real-time signal about where this balloon is going. GPS costs 200,000 to 300,000 won. Then, it'll tell you everything you need to go. By time. So if you turn on the signal device, install GPS, and send it, there's a separate app on the Internet. If you turn it on, you'll get a signal there. Then, on the map, it shows where you're going. So if you send it, you can't adjust the direction to that. The fact that this balloon is going somewhere leaves a trace. [Anchor] We can only check the location, right?

[Cho Han-beom]
That's right. So you can tell whether it's successful or not. So it's a device that we've already been using.

[Anchor]
I'm going to ask you the last question, hasn't North Korea sent a lot of blue drones to our country?

[Cho Han-beom]
I sent it almost 10 times. I sent it about 10 times, and in December 2020, I came near the presidential office.

[Anchor]
Wouldn't North Korea send more drones?

[Cho Han-beom]
They're hitting hard right now, so they won't send it first unless we take additional measures. But if we send it from our side, we'll shoot it down or we'll send a drone to our side in retaliation. Vice Minister Kim Yo-jong already warned me like that.

[Anchor]
Not long ago, when our country unveiled weapons, we unveiled laser weapons that can shoot down North Korean drones.

[Cho Han-beom]
It hasn't been verified in real life yet. So, if it's verified in real life, you can pop balloons. But I can't rest assured of that yet.

[Anchor]
I see. That's all for today's talk. I was with Cho Han-beom, a chair researcher at the Korea Institute for Unification. Thank you very much. Thank you.