Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
The Israeli Walla! website: We are running out of stockpiles, our forces are exhausted, and the lives of the captives are in danger. It is time for a ceasefire deal in Gaza.
Several wounded in an Israeli bombardment of a tent in al-Mawasi, south of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli media: Three wounded, three killed in an ongoing operation in the Gaza Strip.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in southern Lebanon: Israeli artillery shelling targets the outskirts of the town of Shebaa
Al-Qassam Brigades: The targeting took place at the intersection of 'Street 5' with the western line north of Khan Younis
Al-Qassam Brigades: A NIMR armored personnel carrier carrying an Israeli soldier was targeted with an Al-Yassin missile north of Khan Younis
Israeli media: At least two soldiers killed by anti-tank missile fired at Israeli army forces in the Gaza Strip
Local Syrian sources: Mortar shells fell on more than nine villages in the Sweida countryside
Local Syrian sources: Dozens of dead and wounded have arrived at Sweida hospitals as a result of ongoing clashes at several locations in the western Sweida countryside
Local sources: Civilians, including children and women, were injured in the al-Maqous neighborhood of Sweida, in Syria, as a result of ongoing clashes

South Korean defense paper dubs DPRK 'enemy', again

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 16 Feb 2023 13:31
2 Min Read

Signaling a further hardening of stance toward Pyongyang, South Korea refers to its neighbor as its "enemy" in a defense paper for the first time in six years.

  • x
  • Kim Jong-un speaks during the 8th Central Committee meeting of the Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang (KCNA via Reuters)
    Kim Jong Un speaks during the 8th Central Committee meeting of the Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang (KCNA via Reuters)

A country usually makes extreme efforts to prevent instabilities with its direct neighbors. However, South Korea referred to its neighbor DPRK as its "enemy" in a defense paper on Thursday for the first time in six years, signaling a further hardening of Seoul's stance toward Pyongyang.

Since the 1950-53 Korean War concluded with an armistice rather than a peace treaty, the two countries have remained officially at war.

As South Korea weaves closer ties with the US, DPRK's leader declared last year that his country is an "irreversible" nuclear power, conducting weapon tests nearly every month, including the launch of its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

Adding salt to injury, Seoul's new conservative administration has increased joint drills with Washington, not to mention referring to Pyongyang as the South's "enemy" in a new defense white paper.

Related News

DPRK slams 'Israel' as 'cancer-like entity' for Middle East peace

DPRK's Kim vows to 'unconditionally support' Russia in Ukraine war

North Korea "designated us as an 'undoubted enemy'" in December 2022, the paper, formally disclosed Thursday, said. "As a result, the North Korean dictatorship and military, which are the major agents of the actions, are our adversaries," it added.

The move exemplified the condition of inter-Korean ties, which are "filled with confrontations," AFP quoted Yang Moo-jin, a professor at Seoul's University of North Korean Studies, as saying.

"It even gives the impression of a return to the Cold War era," he added.

The phrase "enemy" was first used in South Korea's biannual defense white paper in 1994 after a DPRK official vowed to pour "a sea of fire" on the South, and it remained used until roughly 2000.

It was suspended for a few years until it reappeared in 2010. It was dropped once more under Seoul's former president Moon Jae In who advocated for dialogue with Pyongyang.

South Korea's current President, Yoon Suk Yeol, took over from Moon in May last year, vowing to get tough on DPRK. 

  • Pyongyang
  • DPRK
  • US
  • South Korea

Most Read

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Major ambush in Gaza kills 6 Israeli troops, injures dozens

Major ambush in Gaza kills 5 Israeli troops, injures 14

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Israeli soldiers are seen in Beit Hanoun ahead of an operation by the al-Qassam Brigades, undated (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)

'Israel' on blast as media exposes report discrepancies in Gaza ambush

  • Palestine
  • 8 Jul 2025
Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

  • Politics
  • 9 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
The Freedom Flotilla ship Handala as it departs for Gaza, where it aims to break the maritime blockade at a port in Syracuse, Sicily in southern Italy on July 13, 2025. (AFP)
Palestine

Freedom Flotilla's Handala departs Sicily in bid to break Gaza siege

The container ship CMA CGM Laperouse, left, docks at the Georgia Ports Authority's Port of Savannah, Sept. 29, 2021, in Savannah, Ga (AP)
Politics

US shipbuilding woes deepen as tariffs, outdated policies backfire

Gaza war raises ethical questions for ex-Obama, Biden officials
Politics

Mercenary firm tied to Gaza war crimes hires Obama-Biden PR operatives

'Israel' targets children in Gaza collecting water
Palestine

'Israel' strikes Gaza kids fetching water, blames it on 'malfunction'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS