"North Korea Attacks President Yoon Unable to Deny Arms Deal with Russia"

Yang Wook, Research Fellow at Asan Institute for Policy Studies, SBS Interview

Regarding North Korea's criticism of President Yoon Suk-yeol, Yang Wook, a research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said, "Since North Korea is actually engaged in arms and ammunition transactions with Russia and cannot deny this fact, they are using it to attack the president."

Yang appeared on SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show' on the 26th and said, "If you cannot refute the message, you attack the messenger."

Yang said, "Since the joint inter-Korean liaison office was blown up, inter-Korean relations have been shattered," adding, "From North Korea's perspective, even the so-called trusted progressive government failed, so inter-Korean relations cannot be restored."

He continued, "Then, it became clear that (South Korea) was not acting with sincerity but ultimately for political gain, so basically, North Korea will not trust the so-called democratic system, especially democratic politicians."

President Yoon Suk-yeol is delivering the keynote speech at the 78th United Nations General Assembly held at the UN Headquarters in New York, USA, on the 20th (local time). Photo by Yonhap News

Regarding arms transactions between North Korea and Russia, he said, "It is true that ammunition transactions have been ongoing. This story surfaced around September or October last year," adding, "North Korean ammunition was actually confirmed inside Ukraine around this summer."

Yang said, "The key issue is whether the missiles, multiple rocket launchers, or anti-tank missiles that North Korea is actively producing are being transferred or not," and added, "We must prevent these weapons from being transferred, as they could be short-range missiles."

Currently, North Korea is subject to United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions.

Yang said, "The core of sanctions against North Korea is in Resolution 2094, which prohibits selling or importing missile and nuclear-related items, and Resolution 1718, which was expanded to ban the exchange of weapons altogether," adding, "The problem is that Russia has already violated Resolution 1718 by purchasing shells and such. But if it extends to missile-related items, which are the core of the core, it would be a real disaster."

Regarding the possibility of Russian President Vladimir Putin visiting North Korea, he said, "Given the current atmosphere, it will happen," and assessed, "Putin also needs diplomatic shows and such."

He added, "From Russia's standpoint, there are many moves they can make. First, they can show that they are a country actively involved in Northeast Asian and global affairs," and continued, "Plus, they can warn countries like South Korea and Japan that if you continue supporting Ukraine, we will also continue to expand relations with North Korea, thereby exerting a certain level of deterrence."

Regarding Chinese President Xi Jinping's statement that he will seriously consider visiting South Korea, Yang said, "It is a tremendous signal for improving Korea-China relations," adding, "With the Xi Jinping regime established, it is no longer possible to rely solely on wolf warrior diplomacy. In that context, it seems that they have judged it necessary to slightly distance themselves from North Korea-Russia relations and instead have South Korea, China, and Japan come together to adopt a somewhat different stance than before."