U.S. "participation in the North Korean military's battle"...Trump's 1st North Korea Representative "will soon be on the agenda"

[Anchor]
The U.S. government has confirmed for the first time that North Korean troops participated in a battle against Ukrainian forces in Kursk, Russia.

Biegun, a former deputy secretary of state who served as a special representative for North Korea during the first Trump administration, predicted that Trump's side does not see the North Korean issue as a top concern now, but it could soon be put on the top agenda.

Reporter Hong Joo-ye reports.

[Reporter]
Kursk, where Russia is determined to retake Ukrainian-held areas.

The U.S. government has officially confirmed the North Korean military's participation in the fighting, with Ukrainian President Zelensky also saying he is engaged with 50,000 enemy soldiers.

[Vedant Patel/U.S. State Department deputy spokesman: More than 10,000 North Korean troops have been sent to eastern Russia, most of whom have moved to the western state of Kursk and begun participating in combat operations with Russian forces.]

Patel added that North Korea's participation in the NATO and EU meetings, which Secretary of State Blinken will attend, will be discussed.

Attention is focused on how U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will deal with North Korea when he takes power in January next year.

During his campaign, Trump has repeatedly mentioned his friendship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, hinting at the possibility of resuming dialogue between the U.S. and North Korea.

[Donald Trump / U.S. President-elect (July): All Kim Jong-un wants is to buy and build nuclear weapons. I told you to calm down. I have enough nuclear weapons. Let's relax and go to a baseball game, and I said I'd show you what baseball is.]

Stephen Biegun, a former deputy secretary of state who served as a special representative for North Korea in the first Trump administration, diagnosed that the North Korean issue would not be a top concern in the Trump administration.

However, North Korea's dispatch of troops to Russia has many implications not only for North Korea but also for the interests of the United States, predicting that it could soon become a top agenda item.

[Steven Biegun/Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State] I don't think it will take long for the North Korean issue to get to the top of the agenda. Even if it doesn't, North Korea itself will look for ways to make it happen.]

Referring to the adage that "you can't dip your feet in the same river twice," former Vice Minister Biegun predicted that even if the North Korea-U.S. negotiations take place, the context will be very different from that of the first period.

I'm Hong Joo Ye of YTN.

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video: Han Kyung-hee
Source: Korea Society