• He has also announced the shutdown of three organizations tasked with reunification.
• South Korea’s president, Yoon Suk Yeol, warned of a robust response to North Korean provocations.
• Dr. John Nilsson-Wright, head of the Japan and Koreas Programme at Cambridge University’s Centre for Geopolitics.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has declared that unification with the South is no longer possible and proposed changing the constitution to designate it the “principal enemy,” as reported by state media KCNA.

Kim also announced the shutdown of three organizations handling reunification. South Korea’s president vowed a “multiple times stronger” response to any provocation from the North. Since the Korean War’s end in 1953, the two Koreas have remained divided without signing a peace treaty, technically still at war.

In a speech at the Supreme People’s Assembly, Kim advocated amending the constitution to educate North Koreans about South Korea as a “primary foe.” He asserted that if a war breaks out, the constitution should reflect the goals of “occupying,” “recapturing,” and “incorporating” the South into North Korean territory.

Kim, who assumed leadership in 2011, emphasized that while the North does not seek war, it has no intention of avoiding it. He outlined a “new stand” on north-south relations, involving the dismantling of all organizations dedicated to reunification.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, addressing his cabinet, warned of a robust response to North Korean provocations, highlighting the military’s “overwhelming response capabilities.” Dr. John Nilsson-Wright, head of the Japan and Koreas Programme at Cambridge University’s Centre for Geopolitics, characterized Kim’s remarks as “unprecedented” and noted the departure from North Korea’s traditional unification policy.

“It’s not unusual for relations between the North and South to cool, but this has taken the relationship in a different direction,” he told the news.

He attributed Mr. Kim’s anti-Western stance to the 2019 summit with then-US President Donald Trump in Vietnam, which concluded without an agreement.

“This has been an acute disappointment and loss of face for Kim,” Dr Nilsson-Wright said.

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