[남북의 창] ‘핵 협상’ 이란 다음은 북한?…“핵보유국 철저히 행사” 외 [이슈&한반도] / KBS 2026.06.27.

The North Korean military has recently been actively carrying out operations in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). They are installing anti-tank barriers and fences, opening roads, and laying landmines. The Ministry of National Defense stated that this constitutes a clear violation of the Armistice Agreement by neutralizing the buffer zone, but the United Nations Command (UNC) countered that North Korea's operations are located north of the Military Demarcation Line and are for defensive purposes, thus not a violation of the Armistice Agreement. Following a clash between the government and the UNC late last year over the authority to authorize entry into the DMZ, positions are clearly diverging once again. However, the Ministry of National Defense stated that it respects the UNC's responsibilities and will communicate closely with them. [Report] At the dinner of the G7 Summit held at the Palace of Versailles in France. President Trump personally signs the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Iran to end the war. Attendees, including French President Macron, applaud. Subsequently, Iranian President Fezekian also released a photo of himself signing the MOU, and the agreement took immediate effect. The United States and Iran, having agreed to hold follow-up negotiations for 60 days, held high-level talks in Switzerland for two days starting on the 21st. However, the negotiations are experiencing difficulties from the outset as both sides engage in a fierce war of nerves over issues such as whether International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) nuclear inspectors will visit Iran's nuclear facilities. [JD Vance / U.S. Vice President / June 22: "We have allowed Iran to permit the entry of nuclear inspectors for the first time in a long while. We will strengthen the inspection system (to ensure they never possess nuclear weapons)."] [Esmail Baghai / Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson / June 23: "Iran has not met with the IAEA Director General, nor does it have any plans for the IAEA to inspect Iran's nuclear facilities."] As Iran's nuclear issue emerges as a matter of international concern, attention is also turning toward North Korea, which has continued its illegal nuclear development. Immediately after announcing the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Iran to end the war, President Trump posted a photo on his social media featuring himself and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong Un without any explanation. The photo showed the two leaders strolling in a hotel garden during the North Korea-U.S. summit in Singapore in June 2018. Attention was focused on what President Trump's true intentions were in suddenly bringing out the North Korea-U.S. summit photo at this critical moment, which was bringing an end to the war with Iran that had lasted nearly four months. [Park Won-gon / Professor of North Korean Studies at Ewha Womans University: "There are roughly two possible interpretations. First, the post made about an hour prior was a criticism of President Obama. It can be seen as a critique of the Obama administration and the Democratic Party, implying that he is stepping forward to resolve the nuclear issue, which the Democratic administration had failed to handle properly. Second, within a broader context, it can be interpreted as an expression of his determination to resolve the problem through negotiations, diplomatic methods, and personal connections with North Korea once the current war with Iran concludes."] President Lee Jae-myung mentioned that President Trump, whom he met at the G7 Summit, had posted the photo on social media, stating that he said it is now time to pay attention to the North Korean issue as well. He also conveyed that President Trump expressed a willingness to talk with Chairman Kim Jong-un and agreed on the need for a phased solution to the North Korean nuclear issue. Despite the leaders of South Korea and the United States extending a hand of dialogue toward North Korea, the North continues to adhere to its intention to maintain a "nuclear force line." At the plenary meeting of the Workers' Party of Korea held for three days starting on the 20th, Chairman Kim Jong-un repeatedly emphasized the strengthening of nuclear capabilities and the status of a nuclear power. Identifying the convening of the Nuclear Consultative Group—an extended deterrence consultative body between South Korea and the U.S.—and the South Korean government's introduction of nuclear-powered submarines as causes for the deterioration of the situation, he stated that North Korea would expand its defense assets to a level that would overwhelm the world. North Korea also revealed that it has deployed the Choe Hyon-ho, a 5,000-ton class destroyer known to be capable of launching nuclear missiles, to the West Sea Fleet. Chairman Kim boasted that the naval combat capability, which had previously been inferior, has been elevated phenomenally, asserting that the nuclear armament of the navy is proceedin...