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On the 16th, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un emphasized the need to incorporate South Korea into the territory of North Korea in the event of war. This statement suggests that North Korea is working to characterize the inter-Korean relationship as a hostile one by dismantling recent inter-Korean organizations and taking related actions.
As the Korean Central News Agency reported, Kim mentioned the necessity of amending the constitution to reflect the territorial clause during his state-of-the-nation address in Pyongyang.
Kim declared that since the Republic has stringently categorized the Republic of Korea as a completely separate and highly hostile nation, it has eliminated any notions that contradict the reality of perceiving South Korea as a partner for reconciliation, unification, or compatriot. He emphasized the necessity for legal measures to define the boundaries of sovereign control accurately.
He further emphasized the importance of specifying in the relevant clause that residents should not employ terminology that misrepresents North and South as fellow countrymen, such as ‘Samcheolli Geumsugangsan’ and ’80 million fellow countrymen.’ Kim called for education and cultural efforts to firmly regard South Korea as the primary hostile country and an unchanging adversary.
Kim also asserted, “Expressions like ‘North half,’ ‘autonomy, peaceful unification, national unity’ in the constitution should now be eliminated,” and “These matters should be reflected in the constitution of the Republic and discussed during the upcoming Supreme People’s Assembly.”
North Korea has previously disbanded peripheral organizations responsible for inter-Korean exchanges, ceased inter-Korean broadcasts and news media services, and declared a fundamental policy shift toward South Korea. These actions signify a continuation of measures to frame the inter-Korean relationship as a “hostile relationship between two countries.” North Korea is also displaying signs of heightened hostility, including the launch of intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs) following the commencement of South Korean organization restructuring.
Additionally, North Korean propaganda media targeting South Korea, such as Our Nation Together, Echo of Unification, and Today’s Korea, have been inaccessible since the 11th. These South Korean websites appear to be undergoing renovation work in conjunction with the reorganization of South Korean organizations.
An official from South Korea’s Unification Ministry interpreted these North Korean measures as part of Kim’s directive to sever inter-Korean relations and adopt a hostile approach.
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