Seoul drops ‘enemy’ reference to North Korea

SEOUL: Seoul crossed out a reference to nuclear-armed North Korea as its enemy in a defence white paper published on Tuesday, amid rapidly warming ties despite stalled nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington.

The 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty, placing a heavily fortified border across the peninsula and leaving it still technically at war. For years South Korea and the United States have carried out large-scale military drills against potential attacks from the North, while Pyongyang has repeatedly threatened to turn Seoul into a sea of fire.

But ties between the two Koreas have warmed significantly in recent months under the South’s dovish President Moon Jae-in, who has held three summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un since taking office in May 2017.