[New Square 10] Kim Jong Un, "Yoon, an imperfect person"...What's the intention of the lashing out?

■ Host: Anchor Park Seok-won
■ 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 State Councilor Kim Jong-un has launched a fierce criticism, mentioning President Yoon's name. It was a sharp response to the Armed Forces Day event held on the 1st, and I will point out with an expert what North Korea is thinking. Professor Lim Eul-chul of Kyungnam University's Far East Studies Institute is here. Welcome. If you mention the president's name like that, the level of criticism is very high, right?

[Leave]
First of all, we should look at it like that.

[Anchor]
Why did you mention it so loudly?

[Leave]
North Korea has not officially responded despite many comments from our side. In the past, Gun Geon responded to our remarks, but recently, he has continued to be a strategy of neglect, and Kim Jong-un responded to President Yoon Suk Yeol's remarks on the end of the regime, which should be interpreted as such. Looking at North Korea's recent message, I think there is something we should pay attention to.

It should be related to Kim Jong-un's remarks today. There seems to be a clear aspect that North Korea's security anxiety continues to rise differently than before, and nevertheless, they will never let go of the leadership of the situation on the Korean Peninsula. So, even though we are suffering from security anxiety, I think it contains such a message that we will continue to take the initiative in the situation. Today, Chairman Kim Jong-un criticized President Yoon Suk Yeol under his real name while visiting a special operations unit training base. I think this message is also meaningful.

So, the South Korean government in Yoon Suk Yeol will prevent this by overwhelmingly responding to North Korea's nuclear armament. It continues to pressure North Korea by disclosing a massive ballistic missile called Hyunmoo-5. North Korea cannot undermine South Korea's willingness to advance its nuclear armament or possess nuclear weapons. Therefore, even if the Yoon Suk Yeol government shows strong military power, whether it is rhetorical or action, it will not prevent us from possessing nuclear weapons. And that's what we're going to do, and we're going to continue to send this message that if we do something military that invades them militarily, whether it's the Yoon Suk Yeol government or the United States, we're going to stop it by all means of nuclear weapons. That's why I think it's time to look at it with caution in terms of the rising water level.

[Anchor]
Didn't Vice Minister Kim Yo-jong also mockingly criticize the disclosure of Hyunmoo-5? Reveal weapons in a way like this. We have a bigger weapon, a stronger weapon. Can we see this as an emphasis?

[Leave]
It's connected to the context I just mentioned. The message is that they will continue to take the lead in the situation on the Korean Peninsula, especially in terms of military power, despite the anxiety of security. We have to see what purpose the Hyunmoo-5 missile will be used for. We need to see how North Korea perceives this. In the end, I think this is one of the weapons that can decisively strike the North Korean leadership and the command.

[Anchor]
You can disable the bunker.


[Leave]
That's right. So, for example, even if Chairman Kim Jong-un or the command is deep in the ground, if North Korea nuclear-attacks us, we will strike that command through powerful weapons such as Hyunmoo-5 or we will remove it. I think this is a powerful weapon in the decapitation operation. And North Korea knows this, too. On that, we have a much more explosive weapon than that. I'm talking about the super-large multiple rocket launcher that has been developed and produced since 2019. This message shows off that the explosive power of this multiple rocket launcher is much stronger than the Hyunmoo-5 weapon that Korea has. In any case, North Korea continues to observe every move related to the military power of the South Korean government. In response to that, it is interpreted as whether it is continuing to show leadership in an appropriate way, whether it is rhetorical or through the display of actual military power.

[Anchor]
As you mentioned earlier, North Korea has been quietly floating trash balloons for about a month so far, and suddenly became angry like this after not talking about anything. Which part was the fiercest?

[Leave]
After all, one of the things that President Yoon Suk Yeol keeps saying repeatedly is the term "end of power." Our defense minister is also talking about the end of the regime at every major opportunity. Actually, this expression was not new. It's been repeated since the beginning of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, but from North Korea's point of view, not only the premise, but also the message is that if North Korea attempts to use nuclear force, it will accelerate the end of the North Korean regime. But for North Korea, it's the most provocative, and moreover, it's a fairly aggressive message aimed at the top North Korean leadership. This is the part that can only stimulate North Korea the most. And it's not just an investigation, but through these concrete measures, like Hyunmoo-5, which I just mentioned, North Korea is showing this in real action that if you attack us militarily like this, we will definitely get rid of it. These parts bring about an increase in tension and stimulate the North Korean leadership.

[Anchor]
On the one hand, Hyunmoo-5 is being disclosed, and we're talking about nuclear weapons, but at the same time, when we saw the Joint Chiefs of Staff this morning, we also floated trash balloons. Isn't this too low-intensity, unlike what you're talking about?

[Leave]
This is how North Korea is controlling the level of garbage balloons. We are spraying very low-level balloons, which can be controlled as much as possible. So you can fly more balloons, or you can use harmful substances loaded inside the balloons. It's looking at a lot of possibilities open.

[Anchor]
In the midst of this, many North Korean leaders wearing luxury goods have been spotted, which seems to be attracting attention. This is an analysis that Kim Jong-un's gift rule continues, what do you think about this?

[Leave]
In fact, as the Kim Il-sung era, the Kim Jong-il era, and the Kim Jong-un era came down, a very important means of embracing the main executives and elites of the party, the government, and the military were ultimately these high-priced luxuries. So I say that mental incentives are important, but in the end, North Korean society is also changing a lot into a society where material is more important. So, unlike in the past, you have to pay more gifts to those who are loyal to you to get some kind of sacrifice, such as the higher level of loyalty that Chairman Kim Jong-un wants. In that context, I think that gift politics is being used at a higher level than in the past.

[Anchor]
Choi Sun-hee's luxury glasses are also attracting attention in the background. If you look at these things, it can be said that the import of luxury goods has increased a lot, so what do you think?

[Leave]
He improved a lot. the import of luxury goods So, during the COVID-19 lockdown, it was quiet, but compared to 2021, alcohol increased 200 times, cosmetics 20 times, and leather increased 60 times. As I said earlier, it seems to be related to the situation where the need to use gifts has become much higher. Also, in the case of Foreign Minister Choi Sun-hee, I'm sure you'll know that when you go abroad, you'll definitely take pictures of shoes or glasses or handbags worn by foreign media or domestic reporters. In a way, I think this is also quite intentionally showing off, and that's how much we wear these luxury goods on a daily basis, but we can provide enough material incentives to those who are loyal. I think there's also an aspect of showing off that capability.

[Anchor]
But isn't North Korea subject to UN Security Council sanctions on North Korea now? Especially in the case of luxury goods. How do I bring this in?

[Leave]
I see a kind of supply chain that's pretty solidly built for the importation of luxury goods. Bringing in luxury goods is not today's work yesterday, but going back, luxury goods were continuously brought in even during the Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il periods when nothing else was imported. And as the Chinese economy developed a lot, there were actually many luxury goods available in China in the past, but as you know well, after China's reform and opening, the Chinese economy and all the luxury goods from all over the world are gathered in the Chinese market. So in the past, you can import it from Europe or other countries, but now it's not very difficult to import it like this because it's a luxury in China, I think so.

[Anchor]
On one side, it is said that it is still not recovering from flood damage to the extent that one village of ordinary residents disappeared, but there are also parts that are observed because too many luxury goods are brought in from the other side. Let's talk a little bit about the flood damage. According to the government's satellite images, it is also confirmed that more than 200 houses have been buried. How's this going?

[Leave]
I'm also continuing to observe it, but I think the damage in the Jagangdo area is the worst. Isn't that a country where North Korea values propaganda very much? As a result, it seems to show only that level of objectively reporting the damage situation while giving less shock to North Koreans. In the case of Jagangdo, as you just said, isn't the entire village completely buried and disappearing? This is almost like a disaster. I think they must have fully considered these negative effects on North Koreans.

There have been many situations like this in the past, but the problem is that satellite technology has developed so much that it is now possible to observe and record the reality of the tragedy from the outside without filtration. As a result, North Korea also discloses more objective situations than in the past, but there are still parts that are not disclosed. I think it should be interpreted as such that the damage is so severe that even North Korea cannot disclose it.

[Anchor]
Meanwhile, North Korea is expected to hold a Supreme People's Assembly meeting next Monday and revise the Constitution. We are even looking at the possibility of breaking the Inter-Korean Basic Agreement, so how can we predict it?

[Import]
I think we have a very important political event ahead of us. In particular, decisions that can have a very decisive impact on inter-Korean relations. For example, although it's already been mentioned, there's a possibility of establishing a new maritime border. The most hostile relations between the two countries that have been emphasized. You're saying you're going to make the relationship between the two countries that are fighting a constitution. It is not limited to the level stipulated in the Constitution, but I think it is necessary to pay attention to follow-up measures according to such regulations.

So, while we should pay attention to breaking all past inter-Korean agreements such as the Inter-Korean Basic Agreement, establishing new territorial and territorial regulations, and taking such decisions and actions, what additional measures will be taken thereafter? The most notable part in my view is that peaceful unification has been specified in the full text of the Constitution, but now if there is a phrase suggesting armed unification rather than peaceful unification, will this end up as just a phrase? Even now, military tensions are very high.

North Korea continues to advance its nuclear capabilities and continues to threaten us. I think it's time for a really thorough response because this constitution will be done and the two most hostile countries will be constitutional, and the follow-up measures related to this will be quite likely to make inter-Korean relations more tense.

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