Presidential Office "Sending at least 11,000 troops to North Korea...Special Envoy for Ukra launches discussion this week"

[Anchor]
The president's office says at least 10,000 North Korean troops have been sent to Russia, and more than 3,000 of them are undergoing adaptation training in western Russia.

In addition, the Ukrainian side said they would discuss sending a special envoy to Korea within this week, but explained that they did not directly request shell support from our side.

Reporter Kang Min-kyung's report.

[Reporter]
Amid growing tensions in the international community over the North Korean military's dispatch to Russia, the president's office directly explained the North Korean military's participation in the war.

A senior presidential office official said more than 11,000 North Korean troops have already been sent in the form of "disguise" that has been incorporated into the Russian military system, and 3,000 of them appear to be undergoing adaptation training in western Russia.

The official said the next phase of South Korea's "phased measures" will take place after the start of the North Korean military's fighting, which President Yoon Suk Yeol mentioned last week.

[Yoon Suk Yeol / President (last 24th): We had the principle of not supplying weapons of killing directly, but we can be more flexible in that regard according to the activities of the North Korean military.]

The possibility of providing weapons of destruction to Ukraine immediately seems to be drawing a line.

He explained that Ukraine has never directly requested artillery support such as 155mm, and we also think it is common sense to discuss defense weapons support first, not killing.

The president's office predicted that discussions on the dispatch of a special envoy to Ukraine to South Korea will begin within this week, leading to intelligence exchanges between the two countries.

The president's office is also considering setting up a "monitoring team" to analyze the North Korean military's activities and dispatching them to the site.

The most worrisome part of this dispatch is that the North Korean military can embody its war experience and that it can even receive Russian reconnaissance satellite technology.

Regardless of the outcome of next week's U.S. presidential election, the presidential office said the war in Ukraine is at a stage where it sends a significant signal to our country's security, adding that it will communicate closely with allies from the standpoint of protecting security.

I'm Kang Min-kyung of YTN.

Filmmaker: Choi Young-wook and Jung Hyun-woo

Video editing: Kim Jiyeon

Design: Lee Wonhee