(Yonhap)
(Yonhap)

South Korea will not publish a defense white paper this year — marking a second consecutive year without the biennial document — amid prolonged uncertainty following last year’s martial law controversy and a subsequent change in administration.

According to the Defense Ministry on Wednesday, the military has decided not to release a defense white paper this year — originally planned as the 2024 Defense White Paper — despite a long-standing practice of issuing the document every two years.

“We are reviewing the best possible approach by taking into account policy continuity and the effectiveness of policy communication,” the ministry added.

A ministry official said internal discussions were underway over whether to publish a new edition early next year or to delay publication further and release it the following year.

Under the original schedule, the 2024 edition was to be released in December last year as the former Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s second such document. It was widely expected to follow a policy line similar to that of the previous edition.

Publication was postponed following Yoon’s declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, which disrupted government operations and led the military to call for additional review and revisions.

The official added that the launch of the Lee Jae Myung administration has also contributed to the continued delay, as the new government has signaled a shift in defense and North Korea policy, making it difficult to move immediately toward a coherent evaluation of policy implementation.

First published in 1967, the white paper was suspended after 1968, resumed as an annual publication from 1988 to 2000, and has been released on a biennial basis since December 2004.

The 2022 edition, the Yoon administration’s first defense white paper, reinstated the description of North Korea’s regime and military as the country’s “enemy” for the first time in four years, reversing language used under the previous Moon Jae-in administration (2017-22), which emphasized engagement with Pyongyang.

Yoon's document also placed greater emphasis on analyzing North Korea’s advancing missile capabilities.


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