North Korea has for the first time officially codified South Korea's status as a separate neighboring state, with the relevant provisions appearing in the newly published text of the constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the website infohub.kz reports.
Under Article 2 of the basic law, the territory of the DPRK comprises the lands bordering the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation to the north and the Republic of Korea to the south, as well as the territorial waters and airspace established on that basis. The document does not, however, define the specific lines of the land and maritime borders.
In the new version, unlike the previous one, South Korea is explicitly described as a neighboring state. Provisions on the reunification of the Korean Peninsula have disappeared from the text, along with wording that defined South Korea as "hostile state number one" or "the unchanging principal enemy."
Article 56 defines the DPRK as a responsible state possessing nuclear weapons. The document stresses that the country is developing these weapons to ensure its own existence and development, to deter war and to protect regional and international peace.
Article 89 vests the president of state affairs of the DPRK with the authority to command the nuclear forces. As Supreme Commander, he may delegate that authority to the relevant governing body.
It is noted that in late 2023 Kim Jong Un defined inter-Korean relations as hostile, and in January 2024 he ordered that provisions related to the reunification of the Korean Peninsula be removed from the constitution. After that, the relevant section of the constitution on the Naenara portal became inaccessible. The amendments and additions were made to the basic law in March 2026, at the first session of the 15th Supreme People's Assembly.