In the first defense white paper of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, the expression defining the North Korean regime and the North Korean army as ‘enemy’ is revived.
At a regular briefing on the 6th, Jeon Ha-kyu, deputy director of public affairs at the Ministry of National Defense, said, “Since North Korea’s military provocations and threats, including nuclear weapons and missiles, continue, the 2022 defense white paper to be published early next year includes a clear perception of the North Korean regime and the North Korean military. We will make it happen,” he said.
However, he added, “The specific expression or culture is currently under review and has not yet been finalized.”
It is the first time in six years since 2016 that an expression defining the North Korean system as an enemy has been specified in a defense white paper.
The concept of main enemy, which was first used in the 1995 defense white paper and maintained until 2000, was later changed to expressions such as direct military threats from 2004 according to the atmosphere of inter-Korean reconciliation.
However, following the sinking of the Cheonan warship and shelling of Yeonpyeong Island in 2010, the expression that the North Korean regime and the North Korean military were enemies reappeared in the defense white paper that year, and it was maintained until the Park Geun-hye regime.
Since then, in the Moon Jae-in administration’s defense white paper, the expression defining North Korea as an enemy has disappeared and has been replaced with the phrase that we consider forces that threaten and infringe upon our sovereignty, land, people, and property as our enemy.
Previously, in the 110 national tasks announced in May, the Presidential Transition Committee announced that it was reviewing a plan to specify it in the defense white paper so that we can clearly recognize that the North Korean regime and the North Korean military are our enemies.
Since then, the military has distributed the contents of ‘the North Korean army and the North Korean regime are our enemies’ in the textbook for military personnel.
[서울=뉴시스]
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