References to reunification dropped
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), led by Respected Comrade Kim Jong-un, also General Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the WPK, President of the State Affairs of the DPRK, and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the DPRK, has dropped all references to the reunification of the Korean peninsula in a newly revised constitution.
Now, the DPRK only lays claim to the land “bordering China and Russia to the north and the Republic of Korea [ROK] to the South, as well as territorial waters and airspace established on that basis.”
Descriptions of the DPRK as a socialist state have been “substantially reduced”
In addition to the removal of terms such as “peaceful reunification” and “great national unity,” the achievements of revolutionary Eternal President Kim Il-sung and Eternal Chairman Kim Jong-il seem to have been dropped.
Further, descriptions of the DPRK as a socialist state have been “substantially reduced throughout the document,” which itself was also renamed from the “Socialist Constitution” of the DPRK to simply the “Constitution” of the DPRK. References to “imperialist aggressors” and past “exploitation and oppression” by foreign powers have also been removed.
Several other changes were made, such as the categories of citizens eligible for special state protection, which now includes “families of soldiers killed in overseas military operations, decorated socialist patriots, and retired military officers,” as reported by Korea JoongAng Daily.
Response from ROK nationals
Lee Jung-chul, a professor of political science and international relations (IR) at Seoul National University, “viewed the revision positively, saying it laid the groundwork for ‘peaceful coexistence’ between the two Koreas, noting the absence of any hostile language toward Seoul,” as reported by Yonhap.
The ROK’s Unification Minister Chung Dong-young “has previously argued that South Korea should also consider accepting the North’s statehood. The South Korean Constitution defines the entire Korean Peninsula as the territory of the Republic of Korea and treats the North as an entity to be absorbed through reunification.”
Notably, the revised constitution did not identify the ROK as a “primary foe” despite expectations Respected Comrade Kim Jong-un’s description of the latter as “the most hostile state” in March. At the time, he also asserted that Imperialist America is carrying out “state-sponsored terrorism and aggression” around the world, as reported by Xinhua.