South Korea to remove word “enemy” when referring to North Korean military
Yonhap news agency quoted several sources from the South Korean government on August 22 as saying that the country is considering removing the phrase "our enemy" when referring to the North Korean military in the Defense White Paper scheduled to be released later this year.
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| A section of the front cover of South Korea's 2016 Defense White Paper. Source: Yonhap |
"It would be contradictory if South Korea continues to negotiate with North Korea on measures to end hostile acts, which were mentioned in the Panmunjom Declaration, but still considers the North Korean military as an enemy in the government document," an unnamed South Korean government source said.
He affirmed that the South Korean government is still working on finding a suitable phrase or word to describe the North Korean military, instead of the expression "enemy".
South Korea's 2016 White Paper reads: "North Korea's weapons of mass destruction such as nuclear weapons and missiles, cyber attacks and terrorist threats pose a major threat to our security... As long as these threats continue, the North Korean regime and its military remain our enemies."
Some observers say Seoul is looking to gradually eliminate antagonistic relations amid signs of easing threats from North Korea, such as Pyongyang's destruction of its nuclear and missile testing facilities, and its efforts to lift international sanctions to boost its domestic economy.
The North Korean military first mentioned the North Korean military as the "main enemy" in a 1995 Defense White Paper, after a Pyongyang official threatened to turn Seoul into a "sea of fire."
In South Korea's 2004 White Paper, the phrase was replaced with "direct military threat" in an atmosphere of reconciliation between the two Koreas.
However, Seoul later reused the term "enemy" in the 2010 White Paper when Pyongyang torpedoed the South Korean corvette Cheonan in March 2010, killing 46 sailors, and launched an artillery attack on the border island of Yeonpyong./.
