Ruling party member's chat sparks controversy over attack on N. Korean troops

[Anchor]

A text conversation suggesting that a member of the National Defense Committee from the People Power Party proposed to the head of the National Security Office to request an attack on North Korean troops in Ukraine has been made public, sparking controversy.

The ruling party has drawn a line, stating it was merely a private conversation, but the opposition has reacted, claiming it could trigger a security crisis.

Lee Hee-yeon reports.

[Report]

Messages exchanged between Representative Han Ki-ho of the People Power Party, a former military officer, and Shin Won-sik, the head of the National Security Office, were captured by reporters during a National Defense Committee audit.

When Representative Han suggested that if cooperation with Ukraine is possible, they should attack the North Korean troops deployed in Russia to utilize it for psychological warfare against the regime, Shin responded that he would take care of it.

Additionally, when mentioning the dispatch of a liaison officer to Ukraine, Shin replied that it would happen.

As this content was made public, opposition lawmakers protested, asking if this meant bringing the Ukraine war to the Korean Peninsula.

[Choo Mi-ae/National Defense Committee Member/Democratic Party: "(If the North) raises an issue as a declaration of war against its own soldiers, it won't just end in Ukraine, the battlefield of the Russia-Ukraine war, but will escalate into a North-South conflict on the Korean Peninsula...."]

Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun clarified that it was a private conversation unrelated to government policy.

[Kim Yong-hyun/Defense Minister: "Please understand that this was just a private conversation between the two. This is not our government's policy...."]

Representative Han Ki-ho also rebutted that it was merely a personal opinion and far from advocating for war.

[Han Ki-ho/National Defense Committee Member/People Power Party: "The people of the North need to know the reality of Kim Jong-un. To make them aware, psychological warfare is necessary. To interpret this as advocating for war is a sign of ignorance."]

As the exchanges continued, the National Defense Committee meeting was disrupted.

Democratic Party members of the National Defense Committee called for the expulsion of Representative Han from the People Power Party and the dismissal of Shin from the presidential office.

[Park Sun-won/National Defense Committee Member/Democratic Party: "We strongly condemn the People Power Party and the Yoon Suk Yeol government for pushing the people of South Korea into the threat of war."]

The presidential office explained that the 'dispatch plan for a local monitoring team' was already announced and that Shin's response was merely a customary reply.

KBS News, Lee Hee-yeon.