[앵커]
North Korea is sending workers to a reconstruction project in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, occupied by Russia.
However, as the US opposes it, the dispatch of North Korean workers to occupied territories in Russia is emerging as a new issue in the Ukraine crisis.
Reporter Kang Seong-woong reports.
[기자]
North Korea last month approved two republics created on Russian-occupied territory in Donbas, eastern Ukraine.
The Donetsk and Luhansk Republics were founded by pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine.
Except for Russia, only two countries in the world recognized them, Syria and North Korea.
[데니스 푸실린 / 도네츠크 지도자 (지난달 13일) : 우리는 오늘 북한으로부터 도네츠크 인민공화국을 승인했다는 결정을 받았습니다.]
In the midst of this, North Korea is also considering sending workers to rebuild the two regions.
The United States opposes sending North Korean workers abroad as a violation of Security Council sanctions.
Sovereignty over Russian-occupied territories is still in Ukraine.
[네드 프라이스 / 미국 국무부 대변인 (지난 16일) : 두 지역은 우크라이나에 주권이 있는 영토입니다. 재건 참여 인원은 다른 나라가 아닌 우크라이나의 결정에 달려 있습니다.]
However, Russia and North Korea, which are already under sanctions, may force the dispatch of workers.
First of all, it is noteworthy whether North Korean construction or logging workers currently in Russia will enter Donbass.
It seems unlikely that North Korea, which still controls its borders, will immediately launch a large-scale dispatch.
In consultations with the pro-Russian government in the occupied area, North Korea also said that the time for full-scale cooperation would be following the opening of the border.
However, since Luhansk is pushing for a visit by the supreme leader to North Korea, cooperation between the two sides is expected to accelerate.
This is YTN Kang Sung-woong.
YTN Kang Sung-woong ([email protected])
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