South Korea labeled North Korea’s regime and military an “enemy” for the first time in six years in a new policy report released by its Defense Ministry on Thursday, warning of Pyongyang’s growing nuclear threat and hostile stance toward the South.

“While possessing a large-scale conventional military force, North Korea is advancing weapons of mass destruction such as nuclear weapons and missiles,” the 2022 Defense White Paper said.

The biennial report pointed to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s declaration of the South as an enemy at a plenary meeting of the ruling party’s Central Committee in December.

“The North defined us as an ‘undoubted enemy’ … and continues to pose military threats without giving up nuclear weapons,” the paper said. “Because of this, the North Korean regime and the North Korean military, which are the main agents [of the threat], are our enemies.”

The white paper is the first under the administration of President Yoon Suk-yeol, who took office in May and has staked out a stronger stance against North Korea than his liberal predecessor Moon Jae-in. The term “enemy” was absent in the 2018 and 2020 reports issued during the Moon administration, which pursued a diplomatic push to improve inter-Korean relations.

The conservative Yoon has pledged that he would take a “peace through strength” approach to North Korea, which the new defense report reflected.

“Under the belief that sustainable peace can be achieved not by the goodwill of the other party but by the superiority of power, the South Korean military will further strengthen its military readiness posture against North Korea,” the white paper said.

CURRENTPH NEWS SERVICE