Austin ‘Let’s not speculate’ Kim Yong-hyun ‘Dispatches observation team to participate in war’ ROK-US Defense Joint Statement ‘Breaking’
While US Secretary of Defense Austin defined the North Korean military’s ‘participation in war’ as ‘we have to wait and see’, Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun pushed ahead with ‘dispatching observation team because North Korea is participating in war’, showing a breakdown of the joint statement signed that day due to a standoff immediately after the ROK-US Defense Ministers’ Meeting.
Secretary Austin said about the North Korean military in the Ukraine War, “It is not certain whether they will be deployed, but we won’t speculate, we will collect evidence.” He stated, “We will wait and see whether they will be deployed in the future.”
On this day, Minister Kim showed a break by separately announcing the “dispatch of a Korean troop to observe North Korea’s participation in the war,” which was in conflict with the “two ministers’ close cooperation with the international community on North Korea-Russia military cooperation” signed in the “joint statement.”
Regarding the criteria for “participation in the war,” Secretary Austin said, “The criteria are quite simple,” and “If they fight and attack Ukrainian soldiers, they are co-belligerents, they’re part of this fight,” according to a report by Voice of America (VOA) on the 30th.
At the joint press conference, Minister Kim stated, “Sending observers to Ukraine is the military’s natural duty,” he said. “We have sent observers and war situation analysis teams to various wars, including the Iraq War. In the case of the Ukraine War, in particular, since the North Korean military is participating, we can analyze the North Korean military’s combat trends and use them as useful information for our military in the future,” he said, defining it as “North Korean military participation” and “dispatch of observers.”
VOA reported that “US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and South Korean Minister of Defense Kim Yong-hyun recently inspected the security environment around the Korean Peninsula and discussed ways for cooperation between the two countries on the 30th,” and in a joint statement released after the 56th US-ROK Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) held in Washington on that day, the two ministers “unanimously condemned the fact that military cooperation between North Korea and Russia went beyond the movement of military supplies and even led to the actual dispatch of troops,” and “agreed to closely cooperate with the international community on this matter,” specifying “close cooperation with the international community on North Korea-Russia military cooperation.” VOA reported in a joint statement that <The two leaders also strongly condemned in the strongest terms with one voice that the military cooperation between Russia and the DPRK has expanded beyond transfers of military supplies to actual deployment of forces, and pledged to closely coordinate with the international community regarding this issue.>.
The last key point of the joint statement is that it states, “We pledge to closely cooperate with the international community on this issue,” so it seems that Minister Kim broke his promise to the two ministers in the joint statement at the press conference.
In the full report of the joint statement, Yonhap News stated that <The two ministers strongly condemned in one voice that the military cooperation between Russia and North Korea has expanded beyond the transfer of military supplies to the actual deployment of troops, and agreed to closely cooperate with the international community on this issue>.
KBS reported on the 31st with the title <Joint statement by the ROK-US Defense Ministers “North Korea strongly condemns the deployment of troops to Russia with one voice”>.
YTN reported on the joint press conference on the 31st in a Washington article titled <Minister of National Defense: "If we don't send an observation team to Ukraine, it's dereliction of duty">, saying, "Minister Kim emphasized that small-scale troop dispatches can be decided at the discretion of the Minister of National Defense without congressional approval, and that sending an observation team rather than a combat unit is essential in terms of preparing for the future." <Minister Kim clearly stated that he sent an observation team and a war situation analysis team to the Iraq War in the past, and that this time, they should be sent to Ukraine as well. He said that not sending our troops would be dereliction of duty, as they can collect information on North Korean troops operating on the battlefield."
Yonhap News reported on the 31st at 2:00 from Washington with the title <ROK-US Defense: "We strongly condemn North Korean troops dispatched to Russia with one voice."