North mum on constitutional amendments naming South "hostile state" over possible lack of public support: Ex-diplomat

North Korea’s rubber-stamp parliament hasn't officially announced the expected constitutional changes that would solidify its “two-state” system, possibly due to a lack of public support, a senior North Korean defector suggested Thursday.

Tae Yong-ho, secretary general of South Korea‘s Peaceful Unification Advisory Council and former North Korean deputy ambassador to Britain, speaks during a forum the council hosted in central Seoul on Thursday afternoon. [MINISTRY OF UNIFICATION]

North Korea’s rubber-stamp parliament hasn't officially announced the expected constitutional changes that would solidify its “two-state” system, possibly due to a lack of public support, a senior North Korean defector suggested Thursday.

The Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the ruling Workers' Party, reported Thursday that the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly had taken place in Pyongyang from Monday to Tuesday and that partial revisions to the Constitution had been made. It had been widely anticipated that the Constitution would officially designate South Korea as the “No. 1 hostile country” and remove references to “peaceful unification” following North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's January directive to revise the Constitution. However, no official confirmation has been provided regarding these changes.

“The reason North Korea hasn’t disclosed whether it amended the Constitution could be because the regime hasn't yet secured its citizens' understanding and acceptance of the ‘two hostile states’ theory,” Tae Yong-ho, a former North Korean deputy ambassador to Britain who is now secretary general of South Korea's Peaceful Unification Advisory Council, said at a forum the council hosted in central Seoul on Thursday. The forum gathered seven high-ranking North Korean diplomat-turned-defectors.

“Generally, when the supreme leader announces a new policy, North Korean officials and citizens appear on state media to praise it enthusiastically,” Tae explained. “Afterward, the policy is further explained in editorials in the Rodong Sinmun to justify why it is reasonable and necessary,

“However, up until now, I haven’t seen a single instance where North Korean officials or citizens show up in the media and publicly express support for the theory,” he added.

Tae also rejected claims that North Korea had dismissed unification.

“The core of Kim's 'two-state theory' is a strategy to destroy South Korea with nuclear weapons and unify the Korean Peninsula,” he said.

Kim Dong-su, a former second secretary at the North Korean Embassy in Italy and now a senior adviser to the Institute for National Security Strategy, echoed this view. He characterized the two-state theory as a reflection of both Kims' “aggressive nature” and the regime's “vulnerabilities.”

“This policy is an extension of North Korea’s traditional stance toward South Korea,” Kim said. “It has now been replaced by Kim Jong-un's unification strategy through nuclear force.”

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]