South Korea's New Military Handbook Designates North Korea As 'Enemies'

Ilustrasi militer Korea Selatan. (Wikimedia Commons/Republic of Korea Armed Forces)

JAKARTA - Seoul has designated Pyongyang as its "enemy" in new educational materials distributed among the military, acting on the vows of the new South Korean presidential administration to strengthen its stance on North Korea following its recent missile launch, media reported on Monday.

"North Korean provocations are a security threat that we face, and as long as such security threats continue, the North Korean military and its regime are our enemies," read the South Korean military education materials, as quoted by Sputnik News from Yonhap News Agency on Monday, May 30.

South Korea's military distributed materials on May 9, following a speech by the country's new defense minister, Lee Jong-sup, at a parliamentary session who said North Korea is a clear enemy that poses a nuclear threat, given its recent missile launches, according to reports.

The previous South Korean government under Moon Jae-in refrained from designating Pyongyang as an enemy, to preserve any chance of maintaining inter-Korean dialogue. Meanwhile, the current government has taken a hard line against the nuclear and missile threats coming from the North, the report said.

In a military education material dated 2019, Seoul included Pyongyang on its list of 'real military threats' and attaches importance to the need to secure its "posture and ability to respond forcefully and decisively, should the North commit any provocation or hostile action," it added.

It is known that North Korea has intensified its launch of ballistic missiles and other projectiles in 2022. Since the start of the year, Pyongyang has launched 16 missiles, some of which are said to be hypersonic.

Meanwhile, US intelligence has indicated that North Korea may be preparing to carry out a nuclear test.