NK may no longer be described as ‘enemy’ in S. Korea’s defense white paper
North Korea may no longer be described as South Korea’s official enemy in the government’s soon-to-be-published defense white paper, with the two Koreas accelerating efforts to reduce cross-border military tension and improve socioeconomic ties.
According to defense officials here on Wednesday, the Ministry of National Defense will seek to have its 2018 defense white paper stop referencing the North Korean military as an enemy to South Korea.
Instead, the term “enemy” is likely to be applied to “every force that threatens the lives and property” of South Korea, the officials said. Such a description will be included in the first defense white paper since President Moon Jae-in took office in 2017.
“Given the unprecedented peaceful mood for inter-Korean relations, the government is being extremely careful about describing North Korea,” said a government source, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.
The Defense Ministry has published white papers every two years to outline South Korea’s security threats and military policy. The latest 2016 white paper stated that North Korea remains an enemy as long as it poses military threats.
Since the Moon administration improved ties with North Korea earlier this year, speculation has been rampant among defense officials here that North Korea would no longer be described as an official enemy in the 2018 defense paper.
In August, when the militaries of the two Koreas pushed for a series of trust-building measures, there were reports that the Defense Ministry was seeking to stop using the term “enemy” in describing the North Korean military and the communist regime’s ruling family.
“Those who pose a threat to the lives and property of the South Korean territory, water and airspace are deemed as enemies. … That is my definition of an enemy and that is what I have ordered my staff,” then-Defense Minister Song Young-moo told lawmakers in August.
The move appears to reflect South Korea’s efforts to maintain a mood for peace with North Korea, as Seoul prepares for a flurry of diplomacy aimed at removing Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs.
Although denuclearization talks between North Korea and the US have stalled since their first summit in Singapore in June, the Moon administration, which seeks engagement, hopes they will see a breakthrough next year.
South Korea hopes that Kim Jong-un will visit Seoul early next year to fulfil his promise made during his summit with Moon in September. Moon expects the North Korean leader’s first trip to the South’s capital could pave the way for the second US-North Korea summit.
There are concerns, however, among hawkish politicians critical of Moon’s engagement with North Korea. They said that not describing North Korea as an enemy would undermine the military’s readiness posture amid the North’s lingering military threats.
“North Korea is the only force that threatens South Korea. But the government is seeking to remove North Korea from the enemy list to cater to Kim Jong-un’s needs,” Rep. Kim Jin-tae of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party said on his Facebook account Wednesday.
The debate over whether to describe North Korea as the South’s main enemy has been a recurring theme in South Korea’s rancorous politics. Depending on political ideology and inter-Korean relations, previous administrations have taken differing stances.
The first time that North Korea was referenced in the white paper as the main enemy was 1995, a year after a North Korean delegate threatened to turn Seoul into a “sea of flames” during inter-Korean talks.
The description has come under scrutiny since the Kim Dae-jung administration pursued rapprochement with North Korea. In 2004, the phrase “main enemy” was replaced with “direct military threat” by the Roh Moo-hyun administration, which followed Kim Dae-jung’s engagement policy.
But the expression was brought back in 2010, when North Korea was blamed for torpedoing South Korean warship Cheonan. Since then, the white papers have said the North Korean regime and army constitute an enemy as long as its military threat persists
(jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)
(责任编辑:行业动态)
- Best smart home deal: The Amazon Smart Thermostat is just $63.99
- 你为我们搞建设我们为你送工资
- US will not link COVID
- 6 huge award show mishaps that were as bad as Sean Spicer at the Emmys
- Smiley face on Mars is a telltale sign of its past
- iOS 11 is already on almost 15 percent of Apple devices
- 芒种|忙而不盲,种出健康营养连州水晶梨
- How Ivermectin became polarized on social media
- What to expect from Apple's September event: iPhone 16, Apple Watch 10, and more
- Global warming is screwing over polar bears even more than we thought
- 广西梧州冰泉获认定为农业产业化国家重点龙头企业
- Police close road to investigate a grizzly find... sort of
- Best smart home deal: The Amazon Smart Thermostat is just $63.99
- 天全县新场乡董家村文体联动树新风
- The Wonderful World of Christmas Trees
- SpaceX launches and lands a brand new version of its Falcon 9 rocket
- SpaceX launches and lands a brand new version of its Falcon 9 rocket
- Frida the Mexican Labrador retriever helps rescue people during natural disasters
- 采购商+48,英德红茶在泉城济南蹭蹭涨粉
- 'American Vandal' star Tyler Alvarez explains Netflix hit