North Korea Revises Constitution to Define Borders With South Korea and Remove Unification References

North Korea has revised its constitution to define its territory as bordering South Korea, remove references to reunification, and designate Kim Jong Un as head of state, according to a draft text reviewed by Reuters. The amendments, adopted at a March meeting of the Supreme People's Assembly, codify leader Kim Jong Un's policy of treating the two Koreas as separate states.

This marks the first inclusion of a territorial clause in the constitution. The new Article 2 states that North Korea's territory includes land bordering the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation to the north and the Republic of Korea to the south, along with corresponding territorial waters and airspace.

It asserts that North Korea will never tolerate any infringement on its territory. However, the clause does not specify the exact border with South Korea or mention disputed maritime boundaries, such as the Northern Limit Line in the Yellow Sea.

The revised constitution explicitly places command over North Korea's nuclear forces with the chairman of the State Affairs Commission, formally assigning authority over the nuclear arsenal to Kim Jong Un. A separate defense clause describes North Korea as a responsible nuclear weapons state and commits to advancing nuclear weapons development to safeguard national survival, deter war, and protect regional and global peace.

These provisions build on Kim Jong Un's January 2024 call to amend the constitution, defining South Korea as the primary foe and invariable principal enemy, and stating that North Korean territory is separate from the South. Lee Jung-chul, a Seoul National University professor, told a briefing at South Korea's Unification Ministry that the omission of a specific inter-Korean border suggests Pyongyang aims to avoid immediate new friction while embedding the two hostile states doctrine in its highest law.

South Korean media reported this assessment. Pyongyang has pursued a more hostile policy toward Seoul in recent years, rebuffing repeated overtures for dialogue from South Korean President Lee Jae Myung. State media have shown her at missile launches, military drills, and public events, often dressed in styles mirroring her father's or evoking maturity, such as leather jackets and formal suits.