South Korea called North Korea its ‘enemy’ A term is used in a Defense document released on Thursday for the first time in six years, reflecting a hardening of its position vis-à-vis Pyongyang.

Both countries are technically at war since the end of the 1950-1953 conflict, which ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty. Since the 2019 diplomatic process, which ended in failure, the dialogue between the two countries has come to a standstill.

In a new defense white paper officially released Thursday by South Korean authorities, they say North Korea defined the South “as an ‘undisputed enemy'” in December 2022.

“That’s why the North Korean regime and the North Korean military […] They are our enemy.” refers to the text.

A move that illustrates the state of relations between the south and the north, “full of confrontations,” Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told AFP. “This even gives the impression of going back to the Cold War era,” he said.

The United States and South Korea conduct air exercises in response to North Korean threats

North Korea has mainly conducted nuclear tests on a regular basis firing intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), despite the sanctions imposed by the international community.

In response, the new conservative South Korean government has stepped up joint exercises with its main security ally, the United States.

South Korea’s six-monthly defense white paper first described its northern neighbor as an “enemy” in 1994 after a North Korean official threatened to unleash a “sea of ​​fire” on the south. That term was used until about the year 2000.

It then fell out of use for a few years, until it reappeared in 2010 after North Korea was accused of sinking a South Korean warship, killing 46 sailors.

It again fell into disuse under South Korean President Moon Jae-in. But the incumbent, Yoon Suk Yeol, who replaced Moon in May 2022, has pledged more firmness with North Korea.