South Korea Labels North Korea ‘Enemy’ in Defense Paper After 6 Years of Diplomatic Efforts

North Korea’s solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on its Chinese-made or designed transporter erector launcher (TEL) was revealed at a military parade in Pyongyang on Feb. 8, 2023. Courtesy of Rick Fisher via Rodong Sinmum

South Korea has reverted to calling North Korea “our enemy” in its latest defense white paper after six years of futile diplomatic efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula under the former administration.

The South Korean Ministry of Defense released its biennial defense policy document on Thursday, the first of its kind under conservative President Yoon Suk-yeol’s administration, who took office in May last year.

The ministry declared North Korea as the country’s enemy, citing the North Korean regime’s labeling of South Korea as “an undoubted enemy” last year and ongoing military threats, Yonhap News Agency reported.

“As the North defined us as an undoubted enemy at the plenary meeting of the ruling party’s Central Committee in December 2022, and continues to pose a military threat without renouncing its nuclear program, the North Korean regime and military—the executor of that threat—are our enemy,” the document reads.

South Korea’s use of the term “enemy” to describe North Korea has varied over the past decades. It first referred to North Korea as an enemy in 1995 after North Korea threatened to turn South Korea into a “sea of fire.”

In 2004, South Korea described North Korea as “a direct military threat.” But it eventually revived the term enemy in 2010 after 50 South Koreans were killed in attacks allegedly orchestrated by the North Korean regime.

South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol (2nd L) and South Korean President Moon Jae-in (2nd R) talk before their meeting at the presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, on March 8, 2022. Kim Jin-ah/Newsis via AP

The enemy term was later omitted in 2018 and 2020 by the liberal administration of former president Moon Jae-in, who pursued inter-Korean reconciliation.

The latest change in the defense paper reflects Yoon’s hardline stance on North Korea. The paper also referred to the North Korean leader by his name, Kim Jong Un, as opposed to Moon’s practice of referring to Kim as the State Affairs Commission chairman.

The document refers to Japan as South Korea’s “close neighbor,” a change from the term “neighboring country” used in the 2018 and 2020 defense papers, which aligns with Yoon’s goal to mend strained ties with Japan stemming from disputes over wartime issues.

North Korea Increased Plutonium Stockpile

In the paper, South Korea estimates that North Korea has 70 kilograms of plutonium, up from the previous report’s estimate of 50 kilograms, and that North Korea has a “considerable” amount of highly enriched uranium.

Plutonium and highly enriched uranium are key materials used to build nuclear weapons. YNA reported that 6 kilograms of plutonium and 15 to 20 kilograms of highly enriched uranium are needed to build a nuclear bomb.

South Korean observers believe that North Korea’s plutonium stockpile increased as a result of operations at the country’s nuclear complex in Yongbyon, north of the capital Pyongyang, according to YNA.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported in 2021 that there have been “indications” of operation of a 5-megawatt nuclear reactor at the Yongbyon Experimental Nuclear Power Plant, “including the discharge of cooling water,” since early July 2021.

This satellite photo from Planet Labs Inc., a uranium enrichment plant is seen at North Korea's main Yongbyon nuclear complex, Sept. 18, 2021. Planet Labs Inc. via AP

North Korea fired an unprecedented number of missiles in 2022, one of which reportedly flew over Japan and triggered warnings to citizens in the Hokkaido and Aomori prefectures to take shelter.

In September 2022, North Korea approved a law allowing it to conduct a nuclear strike “automatically” against any “hostile forces” posing an imminent threat.

The law states that North Korea will employ nuclear weapons only as a last resort, but that nuclear forces will be the primary policy of national defense to protect the country’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and people.

Kim referred to the United States as North Korea’s “nuclear enemy state” while blaming South Korea for aggravating military tensions in the region due to its joint defense posture with Washington.

The United States has been urging for a return for a dialogue, a call North Korea has ignored due to what it says are the U.S. and its allies’ hostile policies.

Yoon previously offered North Korea economic benefits in exchange for denuclearization steps but the offer was rejected. Kim said there will be no denuclearization talks, negotiations, or “bargaining chips” in that process.

Mimi Nguyen Ly contributed to this report.