Hong also pointed to the efforts of South Korea's president-elect Park Geun-hye who has called for shortening the required military service for men from two years to 1.5 years, as an indication that Koreans are not distressed over the provocations.

South Koreans differentiate between the North Korean people and its leadership, Hong said.

"Most of the Korean people don't seem to think the North Korean people are the enemy," Hong said. They consider the government hostile to South Korea, he added.