[News Today] YOON CALLS TRUMP ON VICTORY

[LEAD]
President Yoon talked President-elect Donald Trump over a phone call early this morning and congratulated him on his victory. They touched on issues related to North Korea and discussed further bilateral ties.

[REPORT]
President Yoon Suk Yeol has congratulated former U.S. President Donald Trump on his election win.

Yoon said that under Trump's strong leadership, the future of the South Korea-U.S. alliance will shine brighter and that he looks forward to working closely with him.

The presidential office forecasts no major changes in bilateral relations under the second Trump presidency.

According to the presidential office, Yoon and Trump talked on the phone for 12 minutes from around 8 a.m. Thursday.

Yoon proposed that the two countries continue to maintain a close partnership in all areas of economy and security while Trump said he looks forward to continuing good cooperative relations with South Korea.

The top office said the two also shared assessments on North Korea's military moves including its troop deployment to the war in Ukraine.

Meanwhile regarding foreign media reports that North Korean troops deloyed to Russia were engaged in combat with Ukrainian forces, the top office said they have not yet entered into full-fledged combat.

It also reaffirmed the stance that South Korea needs to send a monitoring team to Ukraine to assess North Korean tactics and weapon systems and that such dispatch does not require parliamentary approval.