SEOUL, Aug 28 – South Korea will drop the symbolic tag of ”main enemy” for North Korea in its biannual defence white paper, an official said on Thursday, even though Pyongyang has threatened to reduce its neighbour ”to ashes”.

”Not using the term ’main enemy’ does not mean that we changed our stance. North Korea is still a substantial and present threat,” said Major Seo Young-suk, an official in the Defence Ministry’s public affairs office.