Seoul, South Korea: North Korea’s constitution revisions define the country as bordering South Korea and remove references to reunification, according to a draft text reviewed by Reuters.
The revision codifies North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s push to treat the two Koreas as separate states, rather than parts of one nation seeking eventual reunification.
Lee Jung-chul, a Seoul National University professor, told a briefing at South Korea’s Unification Ministry on Wednesday that the change was believed to have been adopted at a March meeting of the Supreme People’s Assembly.
The new Article 2 says North Korea’s territory includes land bordering the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation to the north, and the Republic of Korea to the south, along with territorial waters and airspace over that land.
The clause says North Korea “will never tolerate any infringement” of its territory. It does not define the inter-Korean border or mention disputed maritime boundaries such as the Northern Limit Line in the Yellow Sea.
The revised constitution designates Kim as chairman of the State Affairs Commission, as North Korea’s head of state. It also states that command over North Korea’s nuclear forces rests with the commission chairman.
A separate defence clause describes North Korea as a “responsible nuclear weapons state” and says it will develop nuclear weapons to safeguard survival and development rights, deter war and protect regional and global peace.
Kim called in January 2024 for constitutional changes defining South Korea as the North’s “primary foe and invariable principal enemy.” North Korea’s permanent United Nations mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
