Trump not looking at Ukraine? "Depending on the results of the U.S. presidential election, it could be a disaster..." [Y transcript]

■ Host: Anchor Lee Ha-rin and Anchor Jung Ji-woong
■ Starring: Kim Yeol-soo, Director of Security Strategy at the Korea Military Research Institute

* 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> The U.S. presidential election will affect many areas, including the North Korean issue and the current war in Ukraine, but Trump has long said that if he becomes president, he can end the war in Ukraine with a phone call. So how does the war in Ukraine get affected by the U.S. presidential election and take the final steps?

◆Kim Yeol-soo> Since he is such a bluffer, it can be a basis for us to misjudge ourselves to believe all the bluff and see that it will be done as it is. Sometimes there's a lot of bluffing. It is similar to public change, but it is sharply different from candidates Harris and Trump on this. Candidate Harris said about the war in Ukraine and how to talk about Ukraine, and Ukraine's independence and security are important. That's why we've been saying that we need to help Ukraine. Trump, on the other hand, is different. From Trump's point of view, I told President Zelenskyy directly what I'm talking about to Ukraine now. He said he shouldn't have fought the war, but he even briefed President Trump last month on what Zelensky called his plan to win. We say we'll win if we do this. I didn't say a word about it. And yet what I keep saying is that I'm going to finish this problem through negotiations with Russia. Vance's words are much more provocative. He said that peace and territorial exchange are necessary, and that if we try to achieve peace, we must eventually recognize the land that Russia has occupied so far. They even threatened that the U.S. would not support Ukraine if it did not come to the negotiations. In that sense, if Harris is elected, North Korea has even sent troops to Russia more than it is now. There may be more support, but if Trump is elected president, wouldn't he make those efforts to negotiate? If that happens, this could be a huge disaster for Ukraine, and a very dangerous situation could develop for European security, so let's see.

◇ Anchor> Putin's closest ally. Medvedev, vice chairman of the National Security Council, recently said this in a local interview. So he said that if the United States continues to intervene in the Ukraine conflict, World War III could happen. Then, even if Trump is actually elected president, I think it will be difficult to come to the negotiating table.

◆Kim Yeol-soo> That's because if Trump becomes president, he will lead toward negotiations, so there is a greater possibility that the war against Ukraine will be concluded in any form. In fact, I can tell you that Trump does not care about Ukraine. But the possibility of World War III now is that if, for example, NATO is now sending troops to support Ukraine, this could go to World War III. But just because individual countries that are in NATO or in Europe are sending combat troops to support Ukraine, I don't think this is connected to World War III. In the case of France, President Macron said five times in February that 2,000 French troops could be sent to Ukraine. Now, everyone is holding their breath for today's U.S. presidential election, but after this election, depending on the results, there is a possibility that individual countries, whether NATO or Europe, will go through some sort of conference process and maybe send troops through policy cooperation. But I don't think it's going to go to World War III.



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

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