North Korea has removed references to unification and ethnic unity from its revised constitution and, in line with its “two hostile states” doctrine, now defines only the North Korean region as its territory, an expert said at a press conference held Wednesday at the Unification Ministry in Seoul.
Lee Jung-chul, a North Korea expert and political science and international relations professor at Seoul National University, noted that terms associated with reunification and ethnic nationalism — including “northern half,” “reunification of the fatherland,” “peaceful reunification” and “great national unity” — were removed from both the preamble and main text of the constitution. The revision reflects North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s “two hostile states” policy declared in late 2023.
Lee referred to the constitution revised during the first session of the 15th Supreme People’s Assembly held from March 22 to 23.
The revised constitution defines North Korea’s territory as the area bordered by China and Russia in the north and the Republic of Korea in the south, including the territorial waters and airspace based on those boundaries, a document tied to the press conference showed.
However, the document makes no specific mention of the maritime boundary in the Yellow Sea, including the Northern Limit Line, the long-disputed inter-Korean sea boundary.
Lee interpreted the omission as intentional, saying, “The moment maritime boundary lines are mentioned, it becomes difficult for us to make compromises,” adding that “the exclusion of such language suggests North Korea also had no intention of creating that kind of dispute.”
The North also removed references highlighting the accomplishments of founding leader Kim Il-sung and his successor Kim Jong-il, the father of current leader Kim Jong-un.
Lee said the constitutional changes suggested Pyongyang was attempting to portray itself as a more conventional state actor. He assessed the revisions as a potentially positive step toward inter-Korean “peaceful coexistence,” pointing to the lack of explicitly hostile wording directed at Seoul.
“The constitutional revision includes a newly added territorial clause and provisions emphasizing statehood, yet it does not characterize inter-Korean relations as hostile or as relations between belligerent states. In that sense, one could make the hopeful assessment that it may provide part of the institutional groundwork for peaceful coexistence between the two Koreas,” Lee said.
The revised constitution also explicitly stipulated authority over the use of nuclear weapons for the first time.
Article 89 of the amended constitution's newly inserted provisions state, “The Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea commands the nuclear forces of the DPRK,” and, “The Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the DPRK may delegate the authority to use nuclear weapons to the state nuclear forces command organization.”
The amendments further consolidate the authority of the president of the State Affairs Commission, formally identifying the position as the country’s “head of state” and ranking it above the Supreme People's Assembly in the constitutional hierarchy of state institutions for the first time.
Another newly added provision gives the State Affairs Commission president authority over North Korea’s nuclear forces, including the ability to transfer that command power.
In addition, the revised constitution removed the assembly’s authority to dismiss the State Affairs Commission president, effectively weakening its symbolic oversight function.
North Korea originally adopted its constitution in 1948 before enacting a socialist constitution in 1972 following multiple revisions. The latest amendment, carried out in March, also removed the word “socialist” from the constitution’s official title.
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, said North Korea’s latest constitutional revision, carried out in conjunction with the 9th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea in March, was largely in line with expectations and synchronized with the 2024 revision of the ruling party’s rules. He said elements of Kim Jong-un’s “two hostile states” doctrine were reflected through the removal of unification-related provisions and the addition of a new territorial clause.
“With regard to territory, North Korea has effectively defined the northern half of the Korean Peninsula,” Yang said. “In other words, the southern half of the peninsula belongs to the Republic of Korea, while the northern half belongs to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, clearly reinforcing the framework of two separate states.”
He added that by removing unification provisions, Pyongyang was effectively codifying the message that “we will not covet your territory, so you should not covet ours either.”
mkjung@heraldcorp.com
