N. Korea likely to amend constitution by removing unification provisions

Seoul: North Korea is set to convene a key parliamentary meeting on Monday, where it is expected to revise its constitution by removing unification-related clauses and clarifying the nation’s territorial boundaries, including the maritime border.

The 11th session of the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) is expected to address these revisions, nine months after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un redefined inter-Korean relations as being between “two hostile states” and vowed to no longer consider South Korea a partner for reconciliation and unification, Yonhap news agency reported.

In a previous SPA meeting in January, Kim called for constitutional changes to officially label South Korea as North Korea’s “invariable principal enemy” and to codify plans for “completely occupying” the South in the event of war.

Kim’s order to review the constitution includes “removing” any clauses related to peaceful unification and stipulating the country’s territorial boundaries, including the maritime border.

South Korea’s unification ministry has said North Korea is likely to scrap previous inter-Korean agreements, including the 1991 Basic Agreement, which defined the relationship between the two Koreas as a “special relationship” tentatively formed in the process of seeking reunification, not as state-to-state relations.

It is also speculated the North’s constitutional revision may remove references to unification, shared ethnicity and race, replacing them with a focus on the forceful absorption of the South in the event of conflict.

The specific details of these changes might not be immediately disclosed, as North Korea has delayed revealing constitutional amendments in the past.

On the issue of the maritime border, North Korea may also ambiguously outline its position without providing specific details, leaving room for future legislative actions to clarify its stance.

Since adopting its socialist constitution in 1972, North Korea has amended it 10 times, with the last revision occurring in September last year.

IANS