S. Korea calls NK followers 'internal threat' in military educational material
The cover of the defense ministry's new education document for mental combat strength is shown in this file photo, Dec. 26. Courtesy of Ministry of National Defense
The defense ministry has described followers of North Korea's ideology and system in South Korea as an "internal threat" in its latest basic educational material for soldiers, in a departure from the previous liberal government that did not outline such threats.
The conservative Yoon Suk Yeol government has taken a hard-line stance on North Korea amid its evolving nuclear and missile threats, compared with the preceding Moon Jae-in government that sought for reconciliation and cooperation with North Korea.
The basic material published Tuesday said there are forces inside South Korea that follow North Korea "uncritically," while remaining silent on the regime's human rights abuses and economic woes.
"As for internal threats, there are those from forces that seek to shake the foundations of liberal democracy by following North Korea's ideology and system against the Republic of Korea's constitution," it reads, using South Korea's official name.
The new educational material for soldiers also called the North Korean regime and its military South Korea's "enemy," renewing the description it made of the North in the 2022 Defense White Paper published early this year.
The ministry is set to distribute the new educational material to military units from the end of this month.
Defense Minister Shin Won-sik has called for strengthening troop education amid heightened tensions over North Korea's continued saber-rattling, highlighted by its recent launch of a Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile. (Yonhap)