North Korea declared South Korea an "enemy state" enshrined in the Constitution. Such an amendment was introduced by the national assembly of the DPRK, as the countryʼs leader Kim Jong Un wanted.
North Koreaʼs KCNA news agency reported that the military blew up sections of road and rail links with South Korea, "an enemy state as defined by the constitution."
Sections of these roads are now completely blocked as part of the "staged complete separation of its [North Korean] territory" from the South.
Last week, North Korean officials gathered for two days of meetings to amend the Constitution and officially designate South Korea as a separate country and the main enemy.
Back in January 2024, Kim Jong Un declared the need for changes to the DPRK Constitution to define South Korea as a "main enemy country." And he argued that Pyongyang will no longer seek reconciliation with the South.
What is happening between North Korea and South Korea?
Since 1910, the entire Korean peninsula had been part of the Japanese Empire, but in 1945, the US dropped two nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, when Japan surrendered and the World War II ended. The Korean peninsula was divided into two parts: American troops occupied the southern part, and Soviet troops occupied the northern part. In 1945, the southern part announced the establishment of the Republic of Korea. In 1948, the communist Democratic Peopleʼs Republic of Korea appeared in the northern part.
The leader of the newly created North Korea was Kim Il-sung, who, hoping to unite the Koreas, built an army and started the Korean War (in 1950). Already in July 1953, the USA and the DPRK signed an armistice, but since then the formal end of the war has not yet been announced. North Korea wants the US to withdraw troops from South Korea and lift sanctions, while the US wants North Korea to get rid of its nuclear weapons.
- The other day, the sister of the leader of North Korea Kim Yo Jong said that a "terrible disaster" awaits South Korea if South Korean drones fly over Pyongyang again. After that, the DPRK brought the artillery on the border with South Korea to combat readiness.
- On October 15, North Korea blew up roads connecting it with South Korea. A week earlier, North Koreaʼs military announced a plan to "completely separate" its country from South Korea.
- Amid tensions with South Korea, North Korea also says that its 1.4 million citizens "fervently desire to fight in the ʼholy warʼ and destroy the enemies," meaning South Koreans.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine please follow us on X.