{"id":52580,"date":"2019-01-15T16:52:24","date_gmt":"2019-01-15T16:52:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/01\/15\/south-koreas-defense-report-backs-off-from-calling-north-korea-its-enemy\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T08:30:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T08:30:24","slug":"south-koreas-defense-report-backs-off-from-calling-north-korea-its-enemy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/flashpoints\/2019\/01\/15\/south-koreas-defense-report-backs-off-from-calling-north-korea-its-enemy\/","title":{"rendered":"South Korea\u2019s new defense report backs off from calling North Korea its enemy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SEOUL, South Korea \u2014 North Korea is no longer South Korea\u2019s \u201cenemy,\u201d though Pyongyang\u2019s nuclear program still poses a security threat, according to Seoul\u2019s biennial defense document published Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s the first time since 2010, the same year 50 South Koreans were killed in attacks blamed on the North, that the enemy label hasn’t been applied, and a further sign of better ties between the rivals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The South Korean Defense Ministry white paper doesn\u2019t include past terms that labeled North Korea an “enemy, a \u201cpresent enemy\u201d or the South\u2019s \u201cmain enemy.\u201d It still said the North\u2019s weapons of mass destruction are a \u201cthreat to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula,\u201d a reference to the North\u2019s missile and nuclear program<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The “enemy” terminology has been a long-running source of animosity between the Koreas. North Korea has called the label a provocation that demonstrated Seoul’s hostility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Liberal South Korean President Moon Jae-in is pursuing deeper engagement with the North after a surprise round of diplomacy last year replaced threats of war and a string of increasingly powerful North Korean weapons tests in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moon is not alone in seeking better ties with the North. The paper\u2019s release also comes as U.S. President Donald Trump <\/a>and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un <\/a>look to stage a second summit meant to settle a standoff<\/a> over the North\u2019s pursuit of a nuclear program that can reliably target anywhere in the continental United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\t