South Korea defence report doesn’t refer to North as enemy

Seoul, January 15

South Korea has stopped calling North Korea an “enemy” in its biennial defence document in an apparent effort to continue reconciliation with Pyongyang.

The development comes as US and North Korean leaders are looking to set up their second summit to defuse an international standoff over the North’s nuclear program.

South Korea’s defence white paper published on Tuesday doesn’t include its typical term labelling North Korea its “enemy”, “present enemy” or “main enemy”.

The terminologies have been a source of animosity between the Koreas because the North called it a provocation that demonstrated how hostile the South was.

South Korea first called North Korea a “main enemy” in its 1995 document, a year after North Korea threatened to turn Seoul into “sea of fire”. AP