Seoul’s Unification Ministry has expressed reservations about a plan to label North Korea as the South’s “enemy” in an upcoming defense white paper, highlighting continuing inter-Korean policy differences within the Lee Jae Myung administration.

During a briefing on Thursday, a Defense Ministry spokesperson denied reports that it was considering dropping references to North Korea as an “enemy (적)” in the 2026 prospectus.

“Our position that the North Korean regime and North Korean military are our enemy remains unchanged,” the spokesperson said.

But in a statement to NK News, the Unification Ministry said peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula remains