A year of war: How the Korean Peninsula has been affected by war in Middle East, Ukraine

두 개의 전쟁: 올해 한반도 안보정세에 어떤 영향 미쳤나 2023 has been a year of conflict in many parts of the world. With a new war breaking out in the Middle East, and the war in Ukraine entering its third year, hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed or injured. and the world is now left with a greater threat to global peace. For more, we have our foreign affairs correspondent Bae Eun-ji in the studio to take a closer look at how these wars have changed the geopolitical landscape. Welcome, Eun-ji. Thanks for having me. 1. So Eun-ji, let’s start with the conflict between Israel and Hamas. It’s already been almost three months since the recent flare-up began in October, what kind of impact does this have on the Korean Peninsula? The Hamas militant group launched an unprecedented surprise attack in Israel on October 7th, which stunned the country and killed hundreds of people. Now this is a war that’s happening thousands of miles away, but it could still affect the security situation on the Korean Peninsula. An expert says the conflict could pose a risk to South Korea, as much of Washington’s focus is centered on the Middle East, rather than North Korean threats. “Already the North Korean issue for the Biden administration and the United States as a whole --is not a top priority at all. But because of the Israel-Hamas war, the North Korean issue is getting lower in their list of foreign policy. So it makes a negative impact on the Korean Peninsula.“ He added that at the same time, North Korea is using this chance to be more critical of the U.S. for supporting Israel. And it appears that the North is supporting Hamas. The Israeli military said about ten percent of the weapons used by Hamas during its attack on Israel on October 7th were manufactured in North Korea. These security risks are especially concerning as they come at a time when the North has conducted five ICBM launches this year --the highest number in a single year. 2. Moving on to the situation in Ukraine it’s been almost two years since Russia’s invasion. How has this affected the Korean Peninsula this year? With the Ukraine war, North Korea has been able to make strategic moves and strengthen military cooperation with Russia. In September, the North’s leader Kim Jong-un even held a summit with Russia’s Vladimir Putin highlighting their strong cooperation. This sparked concerns of further arms deals between them, as it’s widely believed that North Korea provided munitions to Russia, and was given technology to successfully launch its first military satellite, in return. “Russia and North Korea have been building close ties, especially through their rare summit this year. Russia was supported with weapons and North Korea has been able to gain military technology. This transaction is how the Ukraine war has greatly impacted the situation on the Korean Peninsula.“ THe expert also showed hopes of a possible shift in the war next year, such as a ceasefire agreement. 3. Speaking of ceasefire, can we hope for the war to finally come to an end next year? Possibly. Putin has reportedly signaled that he is open to a ceasefire in Ukraine, far short of his recent message saying “Russia will not give up what’s theirs.“ Citing two unnamed former senior Russian officials, the New York Times reported that Putin has been signaling through intermediaries since at least September that he is ready to make a deal. It also said Putin earlier indicated that he was satisfied with Russia’s captured territory and is ready for an armistice. There’s no evidence that Ukrainian leaders, who have pledged to retake all their territory, will accept this deal but Putin’s repeated interest in a ceasefire might put an end to the war that has lasted longer than expected. And it’s important to see HOW the war ends, because if the war ends with Russia’s occupation of Ukrainian territory, it will set an example of a country with nuclear weapons, using its power to take over another country. “This will make a very great negative impact on the Korean Peninsula, because it is one of the cases the powerful, especially a nuclear weapon country, use their military power to invade a neighboring sovereign country. And this is exactly what North Korea has pursued for the past several decades.“ Both wars have definitely shown the dangers of how armed conflicts can break out into region-wide combats. Right. We’ll have to hope both wars do not expand to a wider conflict in the coming year. Thank you for the wrap-up Eun-ji. We appreciate it. Thank you. #SouthKorea #Israel #Hamas #Ukraine #Russia #대한민국 #전쟁 #안보 #Arirang_News #아리랑뉴스 📣 Facebook : 📣 Twitter : 📣 Homepage : 2023-12-27, 18:00 (KST)