International community is watching North Korea amid concerns...Putin Orders New Strategic Nuclear Training

[Anchor]
The international community is concerned about North Korea's expansion in the wake of North Korea's dispatch to Russia.

While watching the movements of North Korean troops and North Korean officials, President Putin orders a new strategic nuclear exercise to draw attention from Russia.

Reporter Kim Ji-young reports.

[Reporter]
The first official meeting with the head of the EU since the new NATO Secretary-General took office on the 1st,

I spoke out over concerns about North Korea's dispatch of troops to Russia.

It is a significant act of escalating tension in the war in Ukraine and a serious threat to European security and world peace.

The Finnish president, who is on a state visit to China, also stressed that North Korea's dispatch of troops is an escalation and provocation.

[Alexander Steub / Finnish President: It's not Xi's words, it's my analysis, but from China's point of view, relations between North Korea and China are not very comfortable at the moment. Because it can actually lead to escalation.]

U.S. President Biden reiterated his concern about sending North Korean troops and warned that they would be hit by Ukrainian forces if they entered Ukrainian territory.

The U.S. believes some of the North Korean soldiers are in Russia's Kursk region, a battleground between Ukrainian and Russian forces.

[Patrick Ryder / Pentagon Press Secretary: North Korea has sent a total of about 10,000 soldiers to train in eastern Russia and the troops will probably beef up Russian forces near Ukraine in the coming weeks.]

It was also claimed by Ukrainian aid groups that North Korean troops had already been deployed to combat and that fighting with Ukrainian forces had killed them.

In particular, U.S. security experts are concerned that Russia could provide North Korea with a large amount of information related to strategic nuclear submarines.

With the international community watching for any escalation, Russian President Putin has ordered new strategic nuclear exercises.

[Vladimir Putin / Russian President: We are doing another strategic deterrent exercise and we will practice actions to control the use of nuclear weapons through actual launches of ballistic and cruise missiles.]

Putin stressed that "the use of nuclear weapons is an extreme and exceptional measure to ensure national security," but said he would continue to strengthen his strategic deterrent, drawing keen attention to its repercussions.

I'm Kim Jiyoung of YTN.


Video editing Seo Young-mi