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| North Korean soldiers march during a military parade at Kim Il-sung Square to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of North Korea's armed forces in Pyongyang, North Korea, Feb. 8. South Korea named North Korea as an "enemy" and Japan as "a close neighbor," which shares common values in its 2022 Defense White Paper. Yonhap |
Japan upgraded to 'close neighbor'
By Jung Min-ho
South Korea named North Korea as an "enemy" and Japan as "a close neighbor" that shares common values in its 2022 Defense White Paper, in reflection of the shifting security policy and geopolitical climate under President Yoon Suk Yeol.
In the biennial report released Thursday, North Korea's regime and military were described as "our enemy," which has not given up its nuclear ambitions and aims to unite the entire peninsula under its communist rule. South Korea, the paper says, was described also as the regime's "obvious enemy" in the plenary meeting of its ruling party's central committee last December.
The "enemy" reference had been dropped from its 2018 and 2020 versions when Moon Jae-in was in office. When the previous administration was promoting peaceful engagement and rapprochement, known as the Moonshine policy (his version of the Sunshine policy), the paper said that any forces that threaten South Korea's sovereignty and territory were deemed as enemies without specifically mentioning North Korea.
The latest edition is also more specific about the nature of threats posed by the North, what agreements it has violated and South Korea's strategies to counter these threats.
"South and North Korea agreed in 2018 to prevent an accidental clash and build trust under the Sept. 19 military agreement. But North Korea has not fulfilled the terms agreed such as forming and operating a joint military (consulting) committee and conducting a joint project to retrieve remains of those killed (during the Korean War)," the report says. "Moreover, it repeatedly violated the terms for the cessation of military hostility by firing artillery rounds in the East-West Sea Buffer Zone, launching missiles across the NLL (Northern Limit Line) and sending drones"
Touching on North Korea's nuclear weapons program, the paper says the North is suspected of possessing about 70 kilograms of plutonium, up from 50 kg two years ago. That could be sufficient to produce more than 10 nuclear bombs, according to some estimates. The paper also states that North Korea has a "considerable" amount of highly enriched uranium ― a vital component for nuclear weapons.
In reference to Japan, the paper described it as a "close neighbor" for the first time since the 2018 edition.
"ROK (South Korea) and Japan share values, and Japan is a close neighboring country that the ROK should cooperate with to build a future partnership that would serve common interests," it says.
South Korea's cooperation with Japan in the area of security has become increasingly critical as it affects the effectiveness of the U.S.' extended deterrence, it says. However, given the current complicated diplomatic issues that are yet unresolved, such as wartime forced labor during Japan's colonial rule, the Ministry of Defense said it will tread carefully as it moves to expand ties.
The document highlights a noticeable change in South Korea's military. The number of its active-duty personnel is around 500,000, a sharp drop from the 555,000 figure of two years ago. Meanwhile, North Korea's figure has remained unchanged at around 1.28 million since 2018.
In the face of looming personnel shortages as a result of South Korea's declining birthrate, the ministry has been pushing for a more technology-based military. Yet, the drastic pace of the demographic fall remains a challenge for a smooth transition.
The ministry plans to publish the report in four other languages ― English, Japanese, Chinese and Russian ― in the coming months.
