Defense Ministry Reaffirms Policy to Designate North Korea as 'Enemy' in White Paper

The Ministry of National Defense announced on the 18th that its long-held position remains unchanged regarding the inclusion of language designating North Korea as an "enemy" in the "2026 Defense White Paper," slated for publication at the end of this year.

The explicit phrase "the North Korean regime and military are our enemy" reappeared in the defense white paper issued during the Lee Myung-bak administration, following the 2010 sinking of the ROKS Cheonan and the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island. This designation was maintained through the Park Geun-hye administration, but was removed from the defense white paper with the advent of the Moon Jae-in administration, which omitted terms explicitly defining North Korea as an enemy.

The expression was reinstated in the defense white paper published in 2022, marking its return after a six-year absence.