KBS ‘confirms engagement’ with Ukraine ‘intelligence’, US Department of Defense ‘unconfirmed reserve force’

KBS ‘confirms engagement’ with Ukraine ‘intelligence’, US Department of Defense ‘unconfirmed reserve forces’

During the final days of the US presidential election, Ukraine released ‘intelligence’, KBS reported ‘confirmed engagement with North Korea’, and the US Department of Defense announced ‘unconfirmed replacement forces possible’.

The KBS interview with the Ukrainian Minister of Defense proceeded with the reporter repeatedly asking the question, “Kovalenko said that North Korean soldiers were attacked first,” and the Minister of Defense evading the question. In the middle, the reporter repeatedly mentioned “engagement” and then, to the follow-up question, “Can this engagement be considered the official start of North Korea’s participation in the war?”, the reporter answered, “Yes, I think so. This is an engagement.”

The conclusion of the Ukrainian Minister of Defense’s response to KBS’s Q&A was “We will confirm in a month” and “We can launch a preemptive missile strike against the North Korean military.”

On the morning of the 6th, KBS conducted an exclusive interview with Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, in which the reporter asked, ‘Can this engagement be considered the official start of North Korea’s participation in the war?’ and the reporter responded, “Yes, I think so. It was reported as a ‘personal opinion’ that it was a “battle”.
The article later reported that <Minister Umerov explained that it was not a systematic battle with all troops mobilized> and <He said that since the North Korean military was disguised as Buryats and mixed in with the Russian military, in order to confirm the exact number of casualties or prisoners, it would be necessary to go through identity verification procedures to accurately announce it> and followed up with ‘unconfirmed’.
KBS reported on Defense Minister Umerov’s statement that <“We are identifying contacts with the North Korean military, but we expect more battles in a few weeks, and we will conduct analysis and review accordingly”> and used the title <[Exclusive] Ukrainian Defense Minister Confirms ‘Small-Scale Battle with the North Korean Military’… “Expecting 15,000 Troops to be Deployed”>.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Umerov had an exclusive interview with KBS that day and will be dispatched to South Korea as a special envoy.
The previous day, KBS reported on-site that ‘battle with North Korea was confirmed’ in a report based on ‘intelligence’ and then In an interview article with the Minister of Defense, a reporter dispatched to Ukraine reported that “the Ukrainian military repeatedly confirmed that they had their first engagement with the North Korean military, but said that this engagement was a small-scale engagement and that it would take more time for the North Korean military to be fully deployed to the Kursk Front,” and “the number of North Korean troops deployed to Kursk is expected to be up to 15,000.”

At a regular briefing on the 4th, US Department of Defense Spokesperson Pat Ryder denied the ‘engagement report,’ saying, “We are aware of media reports that the North Korean military participated in the battle with the Ukrainian military and are investigating, but we are unable to confirm the report at this time.”
In response to a related question, Spokesperson Ryder said, “We believe that at least 10,000 North Korean troops are in the Kursk area,” and “As we continue to evaluate the local presence of North Korean troops, we recognize that the total number of North Korean troops in Russia may increase slightly,” confirming the number of troops as 10,000, clearly showing a gap with the KBS report that the Ukrainian Minister had 15,000 troops.
Spokesperson Ryder continued, “The total number of North Korean troops in Russia is between 11,000 and “I think it’s close to 12,000,” he said, adding, “We have to wait and see exactly how the North Korean army will be deployed. These are potentially forces that are coming in to replace the massive numbers of losses that Russia is experiencing,” he said, officially announcing them as “reserve forces.”

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiha discussed the “need for decisive action” against North Korea’s involvement in the war with Russia with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on the 4th, Reuters reported.

Reuters reported that after meeting with Baerbock in Kiev, Foreign Minister Sibiha used North Korea’s official name in a briefing, saying, “We urge Europe to recognize that the North Korean army is now waging an aggressive war against a sovereign state in Europe,” and reported it as “Ukraine’s discontent” with the “avoidance” of European countries regarding “North Korea’s intervention in Europe.” Reuters continued that President Zelenskyy said in a video conference on the night of the 4th, “At the Supreme Commander-in-Chief meeting, we reviewed a report from Ukrainian intelligence agencies that North Korean troops are stationed in Russia,” and regarding the intelligence report, President Zelenskyy said, “There are already 11,000 troops in the Kursk region,” indicating a gap of 11,000 troops compared to KBS’s 15,000 troops, and did not mention anything related to “engagement.”

 MBC reported on the night of the 4th that its Berlin correspondent said, “Andriy Kovalenko, the head of the Center for Countering Disinformation under the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, claimed on his Telegram channel on the morning of the 4th, local time, that “the first North Korean troops were already shot at Kursk,” and that “the specific details of when and how the attack occurred and the extent of the damage have not been disclosed. There has been no official announcement from the Ukrainian government, and Russia has not yet confirmed whether there was combat.” Local Ukrainian media also reported that the possibility of North Korean troops being attacked was reported by quoting Director Kovalenko, but the facts have not yet been confirmed. "The government approached it as a 'denial of engagement'. It showed a gap of 00 people and did not mention anything related to 'engagement' at all.

Immediately after this, in an exclusive KBS interview, Defense Minister Umerov stated, "We are identifying contacts with the North Korean military, but we expect more engagements to occur in a few weeks, and we will conduct analysis and review accordingly," thereby revealing that 'engagement at the government level has not been confirmed'.

On the other hand, Minister Umerov's answer to a reporter's question in the KBS report was titled 'Confirmation of Engagement' and was reported as 'personal opinion' as "<(Can this engagement be considered the official start of North Korea's participation in the war?) Yes, I think so. It was an engagement.">.

The screen of Rep. Han Ki-ho (People Power Party)'s cell phone, which Edaily captured at the National Assembly on the 24th of last month, contained a Telegram conversation exchanged with his military junior, Director of the National Security Office Shin Won-sik. In this conversation, Rep. Han said, “If there is cooperation with Ukraine, I would like to bomb and missile strike the North Korean military units to cause damage and use this damage as psychological warfare against North Korea.”

The Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that in this conversation, Rep. Han suggested having the Ukrainian military attack the North Korean military deployed in Russia, and Director Shin responded, “I will take good care of it.”

Kyunghyang Shinmun reported on the 24th, “Rep. Han also said, “Instead of sending troops, wouldn’t we also need liaison officers?” and Director Shin responded, “That will happen.” On the 17th, during the National Assembly audit of the Army Headquarters, Rep. Han argued, “If more than 10,000 North Korean troops are being sent to the Ukraine War, we should send an observation team at the very least.”

 

KBS reported the main news at 9 PM on the 4th, <[Exclusive] Ukrainian authorities officially confirm ‘beginning of fighting with North Korean forces’… Zelensky calls for emergency meeting>.

In the opening statement, the anchor said, <Ukrainian authorities officially confirmed to KBS that fighting between Ukrainian and North Korean forces began in the Kursk region. A high-ranking official in the Ukrainian presidential office answered, “I think so,” to the KBS reporter’s question, “Has fighting with North Korea officially begun?” News of the fighting with North Korean forces began to spread this afternoon when Andriy Kovalenko, head of the disinformation response department under the National Security and Defense Committee of Ukraine, wrote on Telegram, “North Korean forces were attacked for the first time in the Kursk region,” without any explanation. A high-ranking official in the Ukrainian presidential office told KBS, “Kovalenko’s announcement represents the National Security and Defense Committee of Ukraine,” and confirmed the content of this post as true.> They reported the fabricated method of ‘confirming with an anonymous official after the release of the disinformation chief’s memo in the afternoon.’

The anchor continued, “However, he was cautious in his words, saying that it is difficult to provide more detailed information at this time,” and opened by saying, “Meanwhile, KBS’s reporting confirmed that President Zelensky urgently convened an unscheduled staff meeting a few hours ago, on the morning of the 4th, local time.”

After the ‘Presidential Staff Meeting’ revealed by KBS on the night of the 4th, the ‘KBS Exclusive Interview with the Minister of Defense’ was aired, and when the KBS reporter asked, “Is this the beginning of a war?” the Minister of Defense responded, “I think so,” and then responded, “It is not a systematic war,” and “We have to go through the peace process.”

 

The ‘Full Interview’ released by KBS at 4 PM on the 5th denied the ‘engagement’ by saying, “It was only a small-scale contact, not a full-scale engagement,” in response to a Korean reporter’s question, “Kovalenko said that North Korean soldiers were attacked first.”
KBS reported this as a ‘small-scale engagement’ under the title, <[Exclusive] Ukrainian Minister of Defense: “Small-scale engagement, not full-scale war with North Korean military” (Full Interview)>.
The Ukrainian Minister of Defense continued to say, “The North Korean military is training,” and the KBS reporter repeated the questions about ‘engagement’ and ‘attack,’ making it seem like an interview that induced an ‘engagement’ answer.
The Minister of Defense accurately answered KBS’s repeated questions about ‘engagement,’ saying, “We will release a report soon. We will confirm it through the report.”
Regarding the ‘North Korean military,’ the Minister of Defense repeatedly said, “They are currently training, and it is expected that they will be deployed to the battlefield soon, but they are currently in the preparation stage,” and “Most North Korean military are still training.”

 

Defense Minister Umerov responded to KBS reporters’ repeated questions about the “engagement” by saying, “We need to analyze a wider period of time, not just one contact, and we can provide more definitive information after about a month,” and “Confirmation after a month.”

In response to KBS reporters’ question, “President Zelensky said he wanted to conduct a preemptive strike against the North Korean military with missiles. Is this actually possible?”, he said, “Why not? This is our territory. Anyone in the temporarily occupied territory or who attacks us is considered a terrorist. Naturally, our country has the right to defend itself, and we see them as enemies and terrorists,” and announced a “preemptive missile strike against the North Korean military.”