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North Korea wants to assure the South – and Pyongyang’s Russian and Chinese allies – of its intention not to attack Seoul first.
After almost two years of speculation, changes to North Korea’s constitution have been made public. Of great interest was the country’s definition of its territory, which is a key indicator of its policy toward South Korea.
The amendment reads that North Korea’s territory borders “China and Russia to the north and the Republic of Korea to the south, as well as territorial waters and airspace established on that basis.” This is the first time North Korea dropped its territorial claims against the South.
Pyongyang also scrapped references to “peaceful unification” and “imperialist aggressors” in the document. Neither does it identify Seoul as the “primary foe.”
