1 of 2 | North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C-R) as he inspects a nuclear materials production factory at an undisclosed location in North Korea, 03 June 2026. Photo by KCNA / EPA
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.
