North Korea has officially amended its constitution to designate South Korea as a “hostile” state, marking the first confirmation of legal changes advocated by leader Kim Jong-un earlier this year.
This week, the country destroyed roads and railways connecting it to the South, which the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) described as “an inevitable and legitimate measure” in line with the new constitutional definition.
On Thursday, KCNA reported that the North Korean army had taken steps to “physically cut off” the routes leading to South Korea, aiming for a “phased complete separation” of its territory from that of the South. Key inter-Korean roads and railways have been “completely blocked through blasting,” according to the agency.
The recent actions follow a significant parliamentary meeting in North Korea, confirming that the basic law has been amended to reflect Kim’s directives.
Shift from ‘Special Relationship’ to ‘Principal Enemy’
Previously, a 1991 inter-Korean agreement characterized relations between the two nations as a “special relationship,” aimed at eventual reunification. However, Kim’s January speech called for this constitutional change and labeled South Korea as his country’s “principal enemy,” stating that any violation of North Korean territory would be met with war.
Tensions between the two Koreas are currently at one of their lowest points in years, with Kim expressing a clear disinterest in reunification.
