North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the National Defense University in Pyongyang, North Korea. Photo courtesy: Reuters
North Korea confirmed on Thursday (October 17, 2024) that its recently amended constitution defines South Korea as “a hostile state” for the first time, two days after the explosion. Front-line road and rail connectivity Which once connected the country to the south.
North Korea’s parliament met for two days last week to rewrite the constitution but state media did not immediately provide details about the session. Leader kim jong un The parliamentary meeting had called for constitutional changes to designate South Korea as the country’s main enemy, remove the goal of peaceful Korean unification, and define the North’s sovereign, territorial zone.
The official Korean Central News Agency said the recent demolition of parts of the northern sections of the inter-Korean road and rail link was “an inevitable and legitimate measure taken in keeping with the requirement of the DPRK Constitution that the ROK Defines from.” Hostile State.”
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Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), is the official name of the North, while ROK stands for Republic of Korea, the formal name of the South.
KCNA No further details were given about the new constitution. a first KCNA The report of the October 7–8 meeting of the Supreme People’s Assembly only stated that the constitution was amended to amend the legal age for North Koreans to work and participate in elections, but did not state Whether Mr. Kim’s demand was also considered in the meeting or not.
Ankit Panda, an expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said, “There is still an internal propaganda review going on about the appropriate way to disclose constitutional amendments, but confirmation was expected.”
Mr. Kim’s order to rewrite the constitution in January surprised many foreign experts because it was seen as part of his predecessor’s long-held desire to scrap the idea of a shared state between the war-divided Koreas and achieve a unified Korea peacefully. This was seen as breaking cherished dreams. On the terms of the answer. In the past months, North Korea has torn down monuments symbolizing rapprochement with South Korea and dismantled state agencies handling inter-Korean relations.
Some experts say that his purpose was probably to protect against South Korean cultural influence and to consolidate his family’s dynastic rule. Others say Kim wants legal scope to use its nuclear weapons against South Korea by making it a foreign enemy state, rather than a potential unification partner that shares a sense of national unity. They say Mr Kim may want to negotiate directly with the US over its nuclear program in future diplomacy, not through South Korea.
KCNACiting North Korea’s Defense Ministry, it reported that North Korea blew up 60-metre-long (197 ft) sections of two pairs of roads and railway tracks – one pair on the western part of the inter-Korean border and the other on the Korean border. Eastern part of the range.
Built largely with South Korean money, the road and rail links were a symbol of the now defunct inter-Korean reconciliation movements. In the 2000s, the two Koreas reconnected road and rail links for the first time since the end of the 1950–53 Korean War, but their operation was later halted due to disputes between the rivals over North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and other issues. given.
Last week, North Korea said it would permanently block its border with South Korea and build front-line defense structures. South Korean officials said North Korea has been installing anti-tank barriers and laying mines along the border since the beginning of this year.
Friday’s KCNA The Dispatch quoted North Korea’s Defense Ministry as saying that North Korea would continue to take measures to permanently strengthen the closed southern border.
Hostilities between the Koreas have escalated in recent days, with North Korea accusing South Korea of flying drones over its capital Pyongyang three times this month and vowing a strong military response if a similar incident occurs again. South Korea has refused to confirm whether it sent the drones, but warned that North Korea would face regime collapse if the safety of South Korean citizens was threatened.
Many observers say that North Korea would probably not launch a full-scale attack on South Korea because it knows that its military is weaker than the US and South Korean armies. But he says miscalculations could still lead to border skirmishes.
Outside attention is being focused on whether the North Korean constitutional change includes new legal, territorial claims around Korea’s disputed western maritime boundary, the site of three bloody naval skirmishes and two deadly attacks on North Korea in the past 25 years. Had happened.
“South Korea and the United States do not need to overreact to North Korean moves. The recent drone incident has increased the possibility of miscalculation and increased tension, Mr Panda said.
published – October 17, 2024 07:18 am IST