[Inside Chodong] The 'Response' Is More Concerning Than North Korea's Troop Deployment

As North Korea's deployment of troops to the Ukraine war heightens tensions between the South and the North, the text messages exchanged between Han Ki-ho, a member of the People Power Party, and Shin Won-sik, the National Security Office chief, are causing an even greater stir.

The incident began when the Telegram conversation between Representative Han and Director Shin was made public on the 24th. Han sent a message to Shin saying, "If cooperation with Ukraine is possible, I hope we can bomb North Korean troops and strike them with missiles to cause damage, and use this damage for psychological warfare against North Korea." Shin replied, "Yes, I will take good care of it. We held an emergency countermeasure meeting today." Since the date on Han's phone was marked as October 21, it appears this conversation took place before the 21st.

Han then asked, "Wouldn't we also need to send a liaison officer (dispatch) rather than troops?" to which Shin responded, "That will be the case." Earlier, on the 17th, Han had argued during the Army Headquarters audit, "If more than 10,000 North Korean soldiers are deployed to the Ukraine war, we should at least send an observer team."

This conversation has caused growing confusion among the public. First, there is the issue of sending liaison officers. The government has shown inconsistent positions regarding the dispatch of liaison officers, and this text confirms that fact. At the Ministry of National Defense audit on the 24th, Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun responded to a question about the possibility of dispatching monitoring personnel to Ukraine by saying, "It is included as one of the phased measures." However, on the same day, Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yeol stated at the Foreign Ministry audit, "The dispatch of military personnel is not true." Although there is a conceptual difference between 'liaison officers' and 'military personnel,' the Presidential Office, Ministry of National Defense, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs all expressed different opinions on the dispatch issue. Recently, reports have emerged that the dispatch of liaison officers is being positively considered.

The bigger problem concerns the content about "bombing North Korean troops." If bombing of North Korean forces actually occurs and North Korea responds with extreme measures, our citizens will inevitably suffer serious harm. Bombing North Korean troops carries the risk of dragging the war currently ongoing in Eastern Europe onto the Korean Peninsula. There is also concern about irreparable relations with Russia, still a military superpower. However, when the government and ruling party learned of the text messages between the two, they stated, "It was a private conversation" and denied any connection to the government. But if these texts were indeed a private conversation between the two, the problem becomes even more serious. If an active member of the National Assembly who is a former three-star general and chairman of the National Defense Committee and the National Security Office chief are discussing such grave matters as a 'private conversation,' public anxiety can only increase.

Moreover, as soon as the incident broke out, the opposition party launched an offensive as if waiting for the opportunity, while the government and ruling party responded with defiance, which is regrettable. The deployment of North Korean troops is an issue that cannot be resolved through 'intra-South conflict.' The essence of this issue is not the deployment itself. What is worrisome is the 'price' North Korea will gain from Russia through the deployment. Russia could use the deployment as a pretext to provide North Korea with economic support such as food and energy, and military support including intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) reentry technology and nuclear submarine leasing, which would threaten us and our ally, the United States. This could lead to a new North Korea relationship that would be difficult for us to handle.

Security is a top priority directly linked to the lives of the people. North Korea has already deployed troops, and managing this situation must come first. Instead of pointing fingers at each other, the political sphere should gather wisdom on how to resolve this situation. Above all, it is essential to remember the well-known fact that 'internal division leads to certain defeat.'