SEOUL, South Korea (AP) 鈥� South Korea called North Korea 鈥渙ur enemy鈥� in its biennial defense document published Thursday, reviving the label for its rival for the first time in six years, as tensions worsen between the two countries.
North Korea conducted an unprecedented number of missile tests in 2022, including . In response, South Korea鈥檚 conservative government led by and boosting its own military capabilities.
Descriptions of North Korea in past South Korean defense white papers reflect the changing rocky ties between the two Koreas. Past South Korean documents called North Korea the 鈥渕ain enemy,鈥� 鈥減resent enemy鈥� or 鈥渆nemy鈥� in times of animosity. But they avoided such references when relations were improved.
North Korea 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 give up its nukes and is persistently , so the North Korean government and military 鈥� is our enemy,鈥� the 2022 South Korean defense white paper issued Thursday said.
The document noted that in December, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called South Korea 鈥渙ur undoubted enemy鈥� in a speech at a key ruling party meeting. It also cited the passage of a new North Korean law authorizing pre-emptive use of nuclear weapons in a broad range of scenarios.
The document said the North Korean nuclear program and provocations 鈥渁re seriously threatening our security.鈥� It said the main objectives of South Korean defense policies include bracing for threats and a potential invasion by North Korea, deterring a war on the Korean Peninsula and contributing to a peaceful future Korean reunification.
North Korea didn鈥檛 immediately respond to the revived use of enemy terminology in the South Korean defense paper, though it has lashed out at past such labels, calling them provocations that demonstrated South Korean hostility.
South Korea first called North Korea its 鈥渕ain enemy鈥� in 1995, a year after North Korea threatened to turn Seoul into 鈥渟ea of fire鈥� 鈥� rhetoric the North has since repeatedly used when confrontations flared with the South.
During a previous era of inter-Korean detente in the 2000s, South Korea stopped using the enemy terminology, but revived it after 50 South Koreans were killed in attacks blamed on North Korea in 2010 鈥� 46 in the torpedoing of a navy ship and four in the shelling of a border island.
South Korea again avoided using enemy labels when it was governed by , who espoused greater reconciliation with North Korea. Defense documents published during Moon鈥檚 2017-2022 rule didn鈥檛 mention North Korea by name when they said South Korea鈥檚 military 鈥渃onsiders any force that threatens and violates the sovereignty, territory, people, and properties of the Republic of Korea as an enemy.鈥�
The latest defense paper refers to Kim Jong Un by name without any of his titles, while previous papers issued under Moon鈥檚 government used both his name and titles 鈥� 鈥淐hairman Kim Jong Un" or 鈥淪tate Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong Un."
Yoon, who took office in May last year, has . During his election campaign, Yoon wrote on Facebook that 鈥渢he main enemy is North Korea" after it conducted a series of missile tests.
Hyung-jin Kim, The Associated Press
