Prime minister nominee calls North Korea both a 'threat' and 'compatriot'

Prime minister nominee Han Seong-sook said on Thursday that North Korea is both "a threat and a compatriot" when asked to define South Korea's main enemy, stressing that the key to peace on the Korean Peninsula is managing relations with the North.

"All that threatens South Korea is our enemy," Han said during her parliamentary confirmation hearing in response to a question from opposition lawmakers about who South Korea's main enemy is.

"But it's a very dualistic situation [with North Korea], in which it is both a threat and a compatriot," she added.

However, Han said that peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula is an objective that everyone can agree on.

"It is important for us to forge and manage relations [with North Korea]," she said.

Han also said that there should never be a war on the peninsula.

Yonhap