[New Square 10] Kim Jong-un said, "In case of an emergency, Mise in the Korean Peninsula...All-out preparation for war"

■ Host: Anchor Park Seok-won and Anchor Um Ji-min
■ Starring: Lim Eul-chul, Professor of the Institute for Far East Studies at Kyungnam University

* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information. Please specify [YTN New Square 10AM] when quoting.

[Anchor]
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who has been quiet, has issued his first message since the U.S. presidential election. He directly criticized the United States, calling it an "U.S. imperialism." He also said, "Completing the preparation for war is a top-notch task." North Korea is narrowing its stride with Russia. What on earth are you thinking about? I'll look into it with an expert. I am with Professor Lim Eul-chul of Kyungnam University's Far East Studies Institute. Please come in. First of all, the contents of Kim Jong-un's speech last week, North Korea's Korean Central News Agency reported today, what did you pay attention to?

[Leave]
First of all, the keyword is war preparation. Then, specifically, how to complete the preparation for war, and in relation to that, he insisted on strengthening five capabilities. The first is political and ideological impact, the second is military and technical impact, and the third is the ability to strengthen actual training, and most of the field commanders and battalion commanders are key people in command of operations and battles on the ground. Strengthening these men's operational command capabilities. And strengthen guard duty capabilities because you don't know when war will break out. Through these five things, preparations for war must be completed. First of all, I sent out such a message.

[Anchor]
Who do you think it was a message to?

[Leave]
First of all, internal messages, messages to the U.S., messages to South Korea, and messages to the West. I think it's a comprehensive message. In particular, there are two parts that I paid attention to. The first is that military conflict on the Korean Peninsula is inevitable in Kim Jong-un's speech. It clearly revealed the perception that this was only a matter of time. Second, I did not mention the dispatch of North Korean troops to the war in Ukraine, but I think I also explained the reason and background of why we had to send troops to Ukraine. In that context, it is a speech that contains a lot of very important messages, and I think we should evaluate it like this.

[Anchor]
So far, there has been no special message since Trump's election as U.S. president, but this time, he calls the U.S. the U.S. the U.S. or talks about U.S. war merchants.There are things like that. Are you talking about principles? Or are you talking about some tough stance?

[Leave]
First of all, I was referring to a strong position. It is highly likely that he has continued to watch the situation since former President Trump's re-election, and especially as a North Korean researcher, Kim Jong-un's personal relationship with President Trump is important, but who is in charge of President Trump's foreign and military policies in the end. There's a possibility that they paid a lot of attention to this. However, although it has already been revealed through the media, it is filled with national security adviser, defense minister, secretary of state, and strong people, and Chairman Kim Jong-un is by no means easy to deal with. In short, uncertainty about the policy toward the U.S. has increased much. As a result, for now, the line of strengthening nuclear force, which has been emphasized continuously, is the best for now. Therefore, continuing to strengthen nuclear armament, regardless of whether it is left or right, is the only way to promote the security of the country, and even if dialogue and negotiations are made later, there will be no disadvantage at that time. It is best to have maximum war capabilities and strengthen nuclear force. This judgment is also shown in this speech, and I see it like this.

[Anchor]
Then, while talking about Chairman Kim's international security situation, he even mentioned the crisis of World War III. Should I say this is a statement with the Ukraine-Russia war in mind?

[Leave]
That's right. So we've been thinking about North Korea's military threat, which we've seen traditionally, at the Korean Peninsula level. But now, it's not that. North Korea is participating in the European War. So North Korea is a war state. It is a country participating in the war, but the war in Europe is inextricably related to the war on the Korean Peninsula. This is how the U.S. and Korea-U.S.-Japan response posture are eventually responding to the European war and the Indo-Pacific region, especially the Korean Peninsula. Chairman Kim Jong-un is responding not only by looking at the situation on the Korean Peninsula, but also by looking at the situation in Europe, and we don't know how the war in Ukraine will end yet, right? Of course, I'm seeing foreign media reports that Russia is dominant, but from Kim Jong-un's point of view, the participation of the North Korean military in any way should be the kind of war that has contributed to Russia leading to war. In that context, we are focusing everything on the war in Ukraine, and the situation on the Korean Peninsula is not a safe situation, so we are gathering all the battalion leaders and political leaders who are dispatched to the battalion, and above all, we are arming our minds again.

In order to strengthen the actual ability, intensive military training is also needed above all else, emphasizing this and tightening the military discipline right now. So, in Kim Jong-un's head, he is focusing all of his efforts on strengthening military power while responding to the Russia-Ukraine war and responding to the possibility of a war on the Korean Peninsula at the same time. [Anchor] The venue of the speech you mentioned was held after 10 years of the battalion commander and the battalion political leadership competition, so if we were to say it's a major and a political officer, aren't they at the forefront of war in a way? So, should I say it's more and more political education? Do you do these things?

[Leave]
That's how we should look at it. In North Korea, when it comes to the size of a battalion, usually 300 to 1,000 troops are included. So, as you just said, if there's a war, they're the kind of commanders who will actually lead on the front line. They are very important people, and the people who are the busiest in North Korea ahead of the year-end gunfire are these battalion commanders after all. This is because not only preparations for combat but also various economic construction are being undertaken, and the rank in charge of this is the battalion commander. So, even though we are very busy right now, we call it all out, mental armament, ideological armament, and practical training, and the aspect of war in the future is a modern war that is different from the past. In order to cope with the modern war, we are now talking about how you should be able to handle high-tech weapons very well. But these comments actually explain why we had to send so many soldiers at a time when we actually sent a lot of North Korean troops to the war in Ukraine. The current situation is so important to us.

Since war can happen at any time on the Korean Peninsula, the most important thing in this situation is actual training and responding to modern warfare.
It's something you can say that we sent a large number of soldiers to Ukraine for that. So one day, the fact of the large-scale dispatch will be known. Then, the background and the reason why we had no choice but to dispatch troops are all included in today's speech.

[Anchor]
Did you put a paving stone in advance?

[Leave]
That's how I look at it. Then, it will inevitably be much less shocking, and from the standpoint of North Korea, it is making a very convincing argument. In particular, the war does not stop with words, but the Middle East war is spreading. The Russian-Ukraine war is also very likely to escalate. I'll mention it a little later, but President Biden of the United States is saying that he can attack the Russian mainland with a long-range missile from the United States, isn't he? The current trend is not that the war is gradually being suppressed or reduced, but it is gradually expanding. In this escalating situation, what can we do to protect national security and the lives and safety of the people? The best way to do that is for our soldiers to take the lead in training and respond to practical war preparations, and we are talking about this logic right now. So now the Trump administration is officially launching on January 20th next year, is there two months left in that period? This period may be really important. I'm making this judgment right now.

[Anchor]
Didn't the current Biden administration authorize Ukraine to use long-range missiles now that you mentioned? How will this part affect the future Russia-Ukraine current war situation?

[Leave]
I can't explain the whole situation, but the important background of President Biden's decision is the dispatch of North Korean troops. We must show the price for this dispatch. You have to make it happen. I'm sending out these messages right now. So, I think this is something that we can only expect to expand because they said that the dispatch of the North Korean military is the background of allowing American weapons attacks on the Russian mainland. Because in this situation, North Korea is also likely to provide more aggressive and threatening weapons. So we have no choice but to go in a direction where the military alliance between North Korea and Russia is strengthened. If this happens, the war will be longer, and those parts will inevitably have a significant impact on the security of the Korean Peninsula. I'm expecting it right now. However, the risk is gradually amplifying, and the most important point is in the two months before the inauguration of the second Trump administration. I'm looking at it like this.
There is a very high possibility of war between Russia and Ukraine, which is the fiercest at this time.

And I don't think it would be desirable for North Korea to prolong the war. So, the best thing is to contribute to some degree of Russia's victory before the inauguration of the second Trump administration, which is the most advantageous right now. However, if American weapons are used aggressively and aggressively, this war will inevitably be prolonged. And I don't want to imagine it, but since Russia is also threatening the nuclear war, how to control and manage it will be a very important goal of the second Trump administration. The only thing that can be said about the future prospects is that the war could cross the danger line temporarily, but what kind of stance the second Trump administration takes and manages this war in the early stages will have a significant impact on the situation of the Russia-Ukraine war and the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

[Anchor]
Until the Trump administration is launched, it seems that the situation of walking on thin ice will continue, and in the meantime, the Russian government delegation arrived in Pyongyang yesterday, and the purpose is the 11th meeting of the North Korea-Russia Trade, Economy, and Science and Technology Cooperation Committee. So in addition to military cooperation, you're also doing scientific cooperation and weapons cooperation?

[Leave]
That's right. We're only paying attention to the military cooperation between North Korea and Russia. If you look at the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty between North Korea and Russia, which was ratified recently, it doesn't mention much about military cooperation. In a way, we've promised cooperation in economy, people's livelihoods, science and technology, education, environment and information and communication. So, when it comes to trade between the two countries, it is also very important to expand trade now. In this context, the meeting is now held according to the already set schedule, and looking back this year, discussions and cooperation between North Korea and Russia in other areas have continued to proceed now than military cooperation. I think we should pay attention to this as well.

[Anchor]
I think we should talk about North Korea's trash balloons. I'm sending trash balloons every time and it's been 3 weeks. I made another provocation.
It's early in the morning. Is it a counter balloon? We also sent it once, and didn't we criticize it very much in the statement of Vice Minister Kim Yo-jong? Do you have the same personality?

[Leave]
Now, I think we are responding thoroughly proportionally. We are repeating the pattern of first warning about flyers sent to North Korea by South Korean private organizations and then sending filth or garbage balloons the very next day. In that context, North Korea first sent balloons, not like this. Anyway, we are responding thoroughly proportionally now. I've explained a lot so far, but from North Korea's perspective, we have to watch the dispatch of North Korean troops to the war in Ukraine, and we have to think about how to reset relations with the U.S. ahead of the launch of the second Trump administration with the U.S., and a big political event will be held in North Korea just a month later. Another meeting of the party's central committee needs to be held to sum up the performance related to the economy and people's livelihoods this year, and various situations overlap. Therefore, regarding the current offensive against South Korea, the harsh offensive continues to be so in words, but it is acting like a level of control to some extent. Nevertheless, military conflicts on the Korean Peninsula should be made a fact, as shown in Kim Jong-un's speech today. We need to make it a fait accompli and respond comprehensively to South Korea. I'm looking at it like this.

[Anchor]
Although the seriousness of these anti-North Korean leaflets, anti-South leaflets, and the situation is remarkable, from the principle of proportionality, we still send emergency medicine or chocolate pie, but we send garbage there, so it is questionable whether it can be called proportional. But especially, I'm very angry about sending Choco Pie. Why are you doing this?

[Leave]
Perhaps it is no exaggeration to say that Choco Pie is one of the most favored South Korean items by North Koreans.

[Anchor]
Some say it's comparable to the dollar.

[Leave]
This can be a source of income equivalent to dollars, and it plays a big role as a snack. So, as the problem of eating by North Koreans is still serious, the various effects of the taste of Choco Pie and such contributed significantly to moving the minds of North Koreans. That's one of the most positive effects of the industrial complex on North Koreans when we evaluate the complex has spread Choco Pie on a large scale. That's how you can say it. But what I'm curious about is why the North Korean authorities released Choco Pie so clearly. I think I made a little mistake in that part, too. Anyway, this can't be considered trash. It's also a very useful, very important necessity for North Koreans in a way.

[Anchor]
I see. Let's stop here. So far, I have been with Professor Lim Eul-chul of Kyungnam University's Far East Studies Institute. Thank you.