North Korea amends its constitution to remove references to reunification of the Korean Peninsula and to codify a territorial definition of the state. Multiple outlets report that the revised text no longer includes language tied to the earlier doctrine of uniting with South Korea and instead frames the relationship between the two Koreas as separate. The revision also adds a territorial clause specifying North Korea’s land as the area bordering China and Russia to the north and South Korea to the south, along with adjacent territorial waters and airspace. Several reports say the document does not clearly elaborate on the disputed Yellow Sea maritime boundary, including the Northern Limit Line, which is commonly treated as a de facto border.
The amendments are described as part of a broader effort to formalize policies associated with leader Kim Jong Un. Some sources add that the revised constitution strengthens and clarifies Kim’s nuclear-role provisions, and one report says it designates him as head of nuclear forces. Another outlet notes that while the constitution defines territorial scope, it does not identify South Korea with strongly hostile terminology in the way some observers expected. The update comes after North Korea’s constitution was first adopted in 1948 and has been amended multiple times previously.
