Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung has reportedly hinted strongly at dropping the term "main enemy" referring to North Korea from the next military white paper due in January.

A ministry official quoted Yoon as saying during a senior level meeting last week, that the Seoul government cannot retain the notion of a "main enemy" in the North and at the same time pursue inter-Korean exchanges in such sectors as tourism. He pointed out that it's no longer appropriate for the anti-North wording to appear in official documents.

Moreover, Yoon said the issue should be tackled not by the Defense Minister but by the ministry in charge of security and foreign affairs since military policies are subordinate to the country's diplomatic and security policies.