2 weeks Ago By [email protected](KoreaTimes)
A town in Gaepung County, North Hwanghae Province, is seen from an observatory in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, near the border with North Korea, Wednesday. Yonhap Pyongyang amends constitution without disclosing details on unification-related clauses By Lee Hyo-jin North Korea announced Wednesday that it will completely sever all roads and railways linked to South Korea and strengthen its border, a move analysts view as an official confirmation of the regime's shift toward a "two-state system," framing the two Koreas as hostile nations. This announcement, however, was made without any public disclosure regarding whether the regime removed unification-related clauses from a recently revised constitution earlier this week, despite widespread speculation that such changes could be intended to solidify the two-state system.
Analysts suggest that cutting off physical ties with South Korea could be part of the regime's broader strategy to justify such an amendment to its people in the future. In a statement reported by the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the General Staff of the North Korean People’s Army (KPA) announced that a project will be initiated to completely sever roads and railways linking South Korea and to strengthen the relevant areas on its side with robust defense structures. "For our army to permanently shut off and block the southern border with the ROK, the primary hostile state and our invariable principal enemy, in the current situation is a self-defensive measure for preventing war and safeguarding the security of the DPRK," the statement read.
ROK refers to the Republic of Korea, South Korea's official name, while DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's formal name. North Korea also said it had notified the U.S.
military in South Korea of the plan at 9:45 a.m., aiming to avoid misunderstandings or accidental conflict.
Pyongyang explained that this step was a "more resolute and stronger measure" in response to what it described as the "acute military situation" on the Korean Peninsula, citing South Korean military exercises near the border and the frequent deployment of U.S. strategic assets in the region, as well as threats made by "war maniacs" to end the North Korean regime.
The announcement came just one day after North Korea concluded a key parliamentary meeting, or the 11th session of the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA), that ran from Monday to Tuesday. Notably absent from the KCNA’s report on the SPA results published on Wednesday were any references to constitutional amendments related to unification or territorial boundaries. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un gives a speech at the Kim Jong-un University of National Defense in Pyongyang, Monday, to mark the school's 60th anniversary, in this photo carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency the next day.
Yonhap Officials in Seoul had been closely monitoring the possibility of such revisions after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in January, proposed constitutional amendments that would designate South Korea as the North's "primary foe," saying that unification is no longer a goal of his regime. It remains unclear whether the lack of mention in the KCNA report indicates that no amendments were made or if changes were implemented but not publicly disclosed. "I would say the amendment on unification was delayed for the next SPA to minimize internal confusion.
The intention behind the announcement to cut off railways appears to be more about gathering justification for future steps, rather than immediately altering the constitution. The regime will take further steps to publicly show that it still upholds the 'two-Koreas' narrative," said Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification. However, Hong pointed out that Wednesday’s announcement to sever roads and railways does not signify a significant change in logistical operations, as similar construction efforts have been underway for months.
Since June, North Korean soldiers have been seen digging and constructing roads in areas north of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), sparking speculation that the regime may either be building a long wall or defensive structures near the border. Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies, suggested the latest announcement is aimed at formalizing North Korea's ongoing projects near the border. "Severing railways and fortifying the land border is an extension of activities they have already been carrying out.
But the statement released by the General Staff of the KPA, equivalent to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), is an official confirmation to the outside world of its ongoing operations and future ones," Yang said. He also emphasized that officials in Seoul should closely monitor whether the Kim regime hints at potential changes in its maritime border, which could be the next step following the fortification of land borders. South Korea's JCS said Pyongyang's decision to cut off the railways "is not something worth paying attention to.
" "North Korea’s recent remarks about cutting off roads, after already attempting to undermine the armistice regime in the DMZ, are nothing more than a desperate measure stemming from the instability of the failed Kim Jong-un regime, and this will only lead to harsher isolation," it said in a statement..
