[Issue ON] "North Korea's multiple fighters" claims... "North Korea is ready to launch nuclear tests and ICBMs."

■ Host: Anchor Youngsoo Kim and anchor Lee Ha-rin
■ Starring: Yang Wook, a researcher at Asan Institute for Policy 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]
Our intelligence authorities said it is highly likely that the North Korean military has already been deployed to the front line of the war in Ukraine. An international organization supporting Ukraine has already claimed that a number of North Korean troops have been killed. It has also been detected that North Korea is preparing for its seventh nuclear test and ICBM launch around the U.S. presidential election next month. Let's analyze it with Yang Wook, a researcher at Asan Institute for Policy Studies. How are you?

[Yang Wook]
How are you?

[Anchor]
CNN reports that North Korean troops are already deployed to the battlefield in Ukraine. What's going on?

[Yang Wook]
Basically, the North Korean military said that 12,000 people would be deployed by December. As you know, the last NIS announcement showed that North Korean troops were moving toward Primorsky Krai between October 8th and 13th, and after that, there were a lot of North Korean military sightings on the Russian soil, like the video you see now. But those personnel have now been deployed to the front area. In particular, a Ukrainian aid group revealed that fighting broke out on the 25th and all but one person was killed in the fighting.

[Anchor]
What you just said, we prepared a graphic, so it would be nice if you could show us the graphic. I have a picture, and I'll show it to you when it's ready.

[Yang Wook]
In fact, I think now that the North Korean military was already active even before some troops were dispatched. The fact that the soldier secured the North Korean flag like that means that there was a North Korean military in that area after all.

As you may remember the North Korean flag, was it last week? There was a scene where it was raised side by side with Russia on the Pokrovsk front. The activities are finally being witnessed in the front area, and the number of testimonies is increasing. So, it's not just a rumor level or a Ukrainian side that created and manipulated it, but because the North Korean military is actually being deployed, so you can judge that this various information is coming in.

[Anchor]
So, how credible is this claim that it was killed except for one person?

[Yang Wook]
Well, it's not easy to check every single claim that comes out.flows across the board So, the North Korean military continues to appear, and when you look at the sightings and information, frankly, the rumor of death after the engagement seems to be somewhat reliable. However, the exact number of people and places were not specified, so that can be said to be a little disappointing.

[Anchor]
It needs to be checked more. The North Korean military is expected to send between 11,000 and 12,000 troops this year. And there are already reports that about 3,000 people are heading to the front line.

[Yang Wook]
North Korea sightings have been confirmed in about two or three places, especially near Kursk. So, according to one theory, there are almost 2,000 or more troops. There were rumors that about 1,500 people had come in advance to train, and that about 2,000 troops were being added later to prepare for the deployment. It can be seen as a process in which those troops are deployed forward. The Kursk region itself is of great symbolic importance to Russia, so it was highly predictable that troops would be put first.

Because what Putin has been in power since 2000 is that he is the guardian of Russia and the defender of Russia's interests. However, in August this year, the Kursk region and the Russian mainland were occupied for the first time in history. It can be said that we have no choice but to put our efforts into this side because we have to recapture this to go whether we have a ceasefire or an end to the war.

[Anchor]
North Korean soldiers who were dispatched have been pointed out all the time that they look too young and small. However, according to the NIS's announcement yesterday, it is correct that the special forces training called the Storm Corps was conducted, and the combat power should not be evaluated too low. What do you think?

[Yang Wook]
I agree. Because what can only be young is that if the people there are new recruits, it's so possible. For example, it's like this. Doesn't it depend on whether I go to a special unit, a regular infantry unit, or a rejection unit at the start of military service? Perhaps the soldiers in the video that we saw at that time were recruits who were assigned under the Storm Corps. Then, if you listen to the voices that come out from time to time and the voices that control the recruits, you will be very old and you will be able to identify these voices.

In the end, that was paid under someone's control. So you can't judge based on that video alone. In particular, you said that you are short, and you are a little small, but that's inevitable for that age group. I think it is too arrogant an approach to evaluate that the overall development is poor throughout the difficult march, so it is impossible to develop only in the state of development and is not elite.

[Anchor]
Physical conditions and combat power are not necessarily proportional, you can see it like this.

[Anchor]
Let's get right into the internal situation in North Korea. There is now news that officers are prohibited from using mobile phones to prevent unrest within North Korea. But do North Korean officers actually use cell phones a lot?

[Yang Wook]
It's more than a certain level, so it should be considered that you're using it. Especially, isn't it people who are abroad? Then, there is a good possibility to secure local phones and things like that in the local area. So it seems like there's a catchphrase for these people to say, "You can't talk on the phone." I'd like to note why would families be quarantined?

It's not just that isolating families prevents information leakage, but in a way, those families are hostages. Deforestation and such things can occur locally, so it is necessary to collect and do it in the end. Along with information control, there is a sufficient purpose to prevent the soldiers from deserting.

[Anchor]
There was also a report in the past that 7 million North Koreans use mobile phones. Will there be information control?

[Yang Wook]
But I don't think information control is actually easy. Basically, whether you use a mobile phone or not, there are other means of controlling each other within it.

[Anchor]
We all know that K culture is already spreading.

[Yang Wook]
That's why we won't be able to keep that hidden from the people. Actually, I'm a little curious about that part because it emphasizes the justification no matter what North Korea does. When you look at nuclear development, you create a narrative by talking about a lot of things. However, if North Korea is watching now, it seems that they have prepared a narrative for sending troops, but the situation turned quickly even before it was completed, so this was not done properly. So it's like this, I've been in denial, but recently I've started to admit it slightly.

In the end, North Korea clearly knows that at some point the international community has no choice but to admit it. If that's the case, I'll try to create something narrative. Helping a communist fellow country like a cold shoulder, this is something you can't do and eventually against the United States and the West. You can go out in that direction.

[Anchor]
However, according to the National Intelligence Service, news of the dispatch of troops is spreading and there are also movements within North Korea to protest against the forced dispatch of troops, and related reports have begun to emerge, but reports of death are also coming out now. If so, I think North Korea's internal opposition will be unusual.

[Yang Wook]
In this regard, I think Kim Jong-un is very adventurous this time. As you said, the dead come out. The difference in feeling is that in the past generations before the March of Suffering, North Korea was also a very multi-child family, especially after the March of Suffering, especially after the March of Suffering, when the atmosphere of having one or two children and raising them well comes out, there are situations where it is difficult to endure as a family. Then, internal opposition will inevitably increase.

In the end, North Korea will disclose this at some point, then create a justification and create a narrative, and this is patriotism, something related to the development of a socialist powerhouse. I can't say for sure whether it will work in the end.Ma is at least not a country where North Korea leads the country through logic, right?

[Anchor]
He said he took an adventure, but he is still nervous, and now Chairman Kim Jong-un is conscious of the possibility of an assassination, raising the level of security. There was also a report like this yesterday.

[Yang Wook]
The possibility of an assassination is not that easy, no matter how much dissatisfaction increases.

[Anchor]
If you look at the screen, there are concerns about the possibility of a rebellion by MZ soldiers.

[Yang Wook]
I think that's an excessive approach. Because it was always like that. So when Kim Jong-un goes out on an inspection tour or when a lot of the public goes, we've seen those security forces, especially those who are very nervous in other videos before. But I think I'll pay a lot of attention to these parts. I think Kim Jong-un might feel uneasy about the recent disclosure of the strategic history and the recent disclosure of the Hyunmoo-5 missile, and seeing Israel carry out beheading operations.I have a little question about whether Ma is likely to be assassinated.

[Anchor]
And this is what the Defense Intelligence Headquarters revealed during the day. North Korea has finished preparing for the Punggye-ri nuclear test. It could be the seventh nuclear test. The ICBM launch is likely next month. What is the situation?

[Yang Wook]
So basically, what North Korea wants to tell you about our context first is to influence the U.S. presidential election by preparing missiles and conducting nuclear tests, but I don't agree with that. Basically, North Korea's most important thing is to succeed in the Ukraine situation. First of all, all policy focus must be on that, and before sending troops to plus Ukraine, we even took out the wartime contingent and sent them, so I'm feeling very anxious. In order to hide the anxiety, the two Koreas declared that they were different countries and built a boundary barrier, but what North Korea can show next is nuclear weapons.

So, in that context, there is a possibility that missile launches and nuclear tests will definitely take place. North Korean troops have been dispatched. As soon as everything is confirmed and concentrated, I think we can fire missiles and things like this to show that there is nothing wrong with protecting North Korea.

[Anchor]
If it's an ICBM and a nuclear test, it means that you'll cross two red lines at the same time.

[Yang Wook]
From the perspective of North Korea, there is nothing more to be rough about. Because I sent troops to Russia. What that means is that Russia is going to have a huge debt. The relationship between North Korea and Russia has changed to a completely different level from the relationship we have seen in the past. I've already observed that it's hard to deliver nuclear technology.I want to reverse the observation now. Because when it's already at that stage, Russia is in a situation where it has to give almost everything it can give North Korea.

[Anchor]
In short, there were some reports that Ukraine requested shell support from our country, but the president's office denied it. How do you expect the South Korean government to respond to the dispatch of North Korean troops, and how much do you think the level of response should be?

[Yang Wook]
Basically, if the North Korean military's participation in the war is confirmed, I think it is necessary to switch to a little forward-looking support. We're talking about phased support.In fact, I'm talking about it step by step, hoping that Russia won't tell North Korea. But hasn't that line already passed? So my personal view is that preventing North Korea and Russia from trying here would be more helpful to our security.

[Anchor]
I see. That's all for today's talk. Thank you very much. I was with Yang Wook, a researcher at Asan Institute for Policy Studies. Thank you.