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. Our foreign affairs correspondent Bae Eun-ji takes a closer look at how these wars have affected the Korean Peninsula. On October 7th, the Hamas militant group launched an unprecedented surprise attack in Israel, which stunned the country and killed hundreds of people. This is a war that’s happening thousands of miles away, but an expert says it could still 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 North Korea is also using this chance to be more critical of the U.S. for supporting Israel. In fact, 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. At the same time, the North has also been able to make strategic moves and strengthen military cooperation with Russia this year through the war in Ukraine. 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 has been able to gain what they want by providing munitions to Russia. “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.“ 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. Bae Eun-ji, Arirang News. #SouthKorea #Israel #Hamas #Ukraine #Russia #대한민국 #전쟁 #안보 #Arirang_News #아리랑뉴스 📣 Facebook : 📣 Twitter : 📣 Homepage : 2023-12-27, 21:00 (KST)