Yoon Administration's First Defense White Paper in 6 Years Defines North Korea as an Enemy

North Violated 9·19 Military Agreement 15 Times Last Year
Military Provocations Including Ballistic Missile Launches Over 34 Days

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The defense white paper, published for the first time under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, defined the North Korean regime and the North Korean military as our enemies. This is the first time in six years since the 2016 defense white paper.

The 2022 defense white paper, released by the Ministry of National Defense on the 16th, stated about North Korea, "Last year alone, North Korea violated the September 19 military agreement 15 times and conducted ballistic missile test launches over 34 days," and added, "At the December plenary meeting of the Party Central Committee in 2022, North Korea defined us as a 'clear enemy' and, since it has not abandoned its nuclear weapons and continues to pose military threats, the North Korean regime and military, as the executing entities, are our enemies."

This is the 25th edition of the defense white paper since its first publication in 1967. The concept of enemy or main enemy (主敵) in the defense white paper serves as a barometer reflecting the then-government’s security stance toward North Korea. After the Moon Jae-in administration took office, expressions defining North Korea as an enemy disappeared from the 2018 and 2020 defense white papers, replaced by the phrase "forces that threaten and infringe upon sovereignty, territory, people, and property are regarded as our enemies."

This defense white paper also separately included an appendix titled "Major Violations of the September 19 Military Agreement by North Korea," highlighting the reality of North Korea’s repeated violations of the agreement. It is notable that the status of North Korea’s ballistic missile launches was specifically detailed through charts.

The white paper also introduced the military forces of both South and North Korea. The standing force of the North Korean military (about 1.28 million) was 2.56 times larger than that of the South Korean military (about 500,000). In terms of weapons across the army, navy, and air force, North Korea is quantitatively superior. However, considering that the South Korean military continues to introduce advanced weapons, evaluations suggest that the South holds qualitative superiority.

However, North Korea continues to strengthen asymmetric forces such as nuclear weapons. The white paper described North Korea’s plutonium stockpile as about 70 kg, which is 20 kg more than the 50 kg reported two years ago, meaning it can produce more nuclear warheads. The white paper also reflected the ongoing development of new nuclear delivery systems, including the new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) 'Hwasong-17,' submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) 'Pukguksong-4ㅅ (Siot) type' and 'Pukguksong-5ㅅ,' as well as hypersonic missiles of gliding and conical types. Additionally, expressions regarding the latest ICBM Hwasong-17, which did not appear in the 2020 white paper, were added this time. Submarines capable of operating SLBMs and 'hypersonic missiles' were assessed to be in the development stage.

Regarding Japan, the white paper upgraded its description to "a close neighboring country" and revived the expression that South Korea and Japan "share values" for the first time in six years. This is seen as reflecting the intention to strengthen security cooperation and improve relations with Japan. Broadly speaking, after oscillating between "major neighboring country" during the Roh Moo-hyun administration and "neighboring country" and "partner," this white paper defines Japan as a "close neighboring country."

The Ministry of National Defense plans to publish the defense white paper, consisting of seven chapters, in the first half of this year in English and multilingual summaries (English, Japanese, Chinese, Russian) to secure international trust and support for defense policy.