South Korean ministries split over North Korea ‘enemy' label

June 18 (Asia Today) -- South Korea's defense and unification ministries expressed conflicting positions Thursday over whether the country's next defense white paper should continue to describe the North Korean regime and military as an enemy.

The Defense Ministry said its assessment remained unchanged, while the Unification Ministry argued that directly identifying North Korea as the country's principal enemy was incompatible with the government's policy of peaceful coexistence.

"Our position that the North Korean regime and the North Korean military are our enemy has not changed," Deputy Defense Ministry spokesperson Lee Kyung-ho said during a regular briefing.

Lee was responding to a media report that the ministry was considering removing the wording from the defense white paper scheduled for publication by the end of the year.

The ministry is preparing an initial draft of the document, Lee said.

Asked whether there would be any change in the military's definition of the enemy, he replied, "No."

South Korea's 2022 defense white paper stated that the North Korean regime and military were "our enemy," citing Pyongyang's nuclear weapons, missile development and continuing military threats.

The forthcoming edition will be the first defense white paper in four years. Its publication was delayed amid political turmoil following the Dec. 3, 2024, martial law declaration under former President Yoon Suk Yeol.

The Unification Ministry responded by saying the wording should be reconsidered as President Lee Jae Myung's government pursues peaceful coexistence with North Korea.

"A policy of peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula is a firm objective of the Lee Jae Myung administration," a Unification Ministry official told reporters.

"It is not possible to pursue peaceful coexistence while defining North Korea as the principal enemy," the official said.

The ministry said the issue should be discussed in the context of defense policies used under former Presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Moon Jae-in.

Defense white papers published during the Roh administration referred to the enemy as a "direct military threat" rather than explicitly naming North Korea.

Under the Moon administration, the military defined an enemy more broadly as any force that threatens or violates South Korea's sovereignty, territory, people or property.

The Unification Ministry official said the new defense white paper should consider using similarly broad language instead of directly designating North Korea as an enemy.

"The policy of peaceful coexistence and the designation of North Korea as the principal enemy cannot be compatible," the official said.

The ministry plans to submit its position when the Defense Ministry consults other government agencies during preparation of the white paper.

The dispute highlights a broader policy challenge for the Lee administration as it seeks to reduce tensions and restore inter-Korean dialogue while maintaining military readiness against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.

-- Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260618010006425

Copyright 2026 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

This story was originally published June 18, 2026 at 6:33 PM.