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Defense Ministry to publish policy paper for first time since 2022

Published: 17 Mar. 2026, 17:39 Updated: 18 Mar. 2026, 14:21

A strategic cruise missile is test-fired from the Choe Hyon destroyer in this photo carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on March 11. [YONHAP]

The South Korean Ministry of National Defense is preparing to publish its defense policy paper for the first time in four years later this year, according to ministry officials on Tuesday.

The biennial defense white paper has not been updated since 2022 in the wake of a failed martial law bid by former President Yoon Suk Yeol in late 2024.

A draft version of the 2024 defense policy paper had been updated, but its formal publication was delayed due to the aftermath of the martial law turmoil.

The new defense policy paper is expected to be published by the end of this year.

If published, attention will focus on how South Korea redefines its relations with North Korea or adjusts its alliance with the United States.

A description of North Korea has been a key part of the basis of South Korea's defense policy.

In the 2022 white paper, the South Korean National Defense Ministry described the North Korean regime and its military as “our enemy.”

Yonhap