North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un Removes Monument, Signaling Split from South Korea

While North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un’s plan to eliminate the history and legacy of relations between North and South Korea by referring to South Korea as the “Republic of Korea” is being put into action, it appears that the Arch of Reunification (Monument to the Three-Point Charter for National Reunification), which holds the achievements of the late Kim Il Sung, has been demolished.

On the 23rd (local time), a North Korean media <NK News> reported that the Arch of Reunification, located in the southwestern part of Pyongyang, North Korea, had disappeared after analyzing commercial satellite images.

The media stated that the monument was captured in a photo on the 19th. Still, it had disappeared when they checked with a medium-resolution photo on the 23rd, adding, “We cannot determine exactly when and how it was demolished.” The media speculated it might have been removed on the 22nd.

The media analyzed, “This appears to have been done following North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un’s order earlier this month to demolish the large monument symbolizing hope for reunification. This aims to send a strong signal that Kim is seriously considering abandoning his policy of peaceful reunification with South Korea to the people of North Korea and South Korea.”

Previously, Kim announced the demolition during his administrative policy speech at the 10th session of the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly on the 15th, saying, “We must completely remove the concept itself of ‘reunification,’ ‘reconciliation,’ and ‘compatriots’ from our republic’s national history by implementing measures such as demolishing the ‘Arch of Reunification’ standing disgracefully at the southern gate of the capital, Pyongyang.”

It is evaluated that the rapid demolition of the monument just about a week after Kim’s speech indicates that his intention to reset North-South relations is quite firm.

In particular, the monument’s demolition, which reflects the achievements of his predecessor, Kim Il Sung, regarding North-South relations, could have been a significant political burden for Kim. However, the fact that he pushed ahead with the demolition despite this has reinforced this evaluation.

North Korea has defined the unification-related agreements and claims that emerged from the Three Principles of Reunification, that is, independence, peace, and greatest national solidarity, of July 4. North-South Joint Statement announced in 1972, the ‘Plan for the Establishment of Democratic Confederal Republic of Koryo’ from the 6th Party Congress in October 1980, and the ‘Ten Principles for the National Unity for the Reunification of the Country’ revealed at the 5th Plenary Session of the 9th Supreme People’s Assembly on April 7, 1993, as the ‘Three Charters.’ And the monument was a symbol to commemorate these.

Since Kim also mentioned the need for constitutional amendments in his speech, work on this aspect will likely proceed. He said, “I reminded that the South Korean constitution states that the territory of the Republic of Korea is the Korean Peninsula and its adjacent islands in the previous plenary session,” and argued that the North Korean constitution should have such provisions.

Kim stated, “Our country’s constitution currently does not have provisions that reflect these contents. Since our country erased the reality-contradictory ready-made concept that the Republic of Korea is a counterpart of reconciliation and unification and a compatriot and characterized South Korea as a foreign country and the most hostile country, we need to establish legal measures to precisely define the jurisdiction of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) as an independent socialist state.

“I think it’s also important to reflect the issue of completely occupying, subjugating, reclaiming, and integrating the Republic of Korea into the territory of the Republic in the event of a war on the Korean Peninsula,” he added.

▲ On the 23rd (local time), North Korean media reported that the Arch of Reunification, located in the southwestern part of Pyongyang, had been demolished. The photo shows the monument. ⓒ Wikimedia Commons