North’s state news agency says, ‘blowing up of inter-Korean roads and railways is request of Constitution’

North Korea\'s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported the destruction of the Gyeongui and Donghae roads and railways that connect the two Koreas on October 17. Yonhap News

North Korea disclosed on October 17 that it blew up parts of the Gyeongui and Donghae roads and railways, saying it was conducted in accordance with the “request of the Constitution of Democratic People's Republic of Korea, which regulates South Korea as a strictly hostile state.” This suggests that North Korea has revised its constitution to reflect its “two hostile states” theory. However, it did not disclose any details related to the constitutional amendment.

“On the afternoon of October 15, a 60-meter section of roads and railways in Gamhori, Goseong-gun, Gangwon Province, and a 60-meter section of roads and railways in Dongnae-ri, Kaesong, were completely closed by blasting,” a spokesperson for North Korea’s Ministry of Defense said through the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Earlier, South Korean military authorities said that North Korea had blown up the Gyeongui and Donghae roads and the Donghae railways, which connect the two Koreas inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). This information was also featured on the front page of the Rodong Sinmun, the North’s official newspaper that its people read.

The news agency claimed that the explosions were “inevitable and legitimate measures” in response to the creation of a serious security environment by the “hostile forces' severe political and military provocations.” The "political and military provocations" seems to refer to the "South Korea’s infiltration of drones into Pyongyang" incident claimed by the North on the 11th.

The news agency also cited “the request of the Constitution of Democratic People's Republic of Korea, which regulates South Korea as a strictly hostile state” as another reason for the destruction.

The North's existing constitution does not specify the South as a hostile state, leading some to speculate that Pyongyang recently completed a revision to reflect its “two hostile states.” North Korean media reported that the revision was made at a meeting of the Supreme People's Assembly between October 7 and 8, but did not disclose whether it included the removal of the unification clause and the creation of a territorial clause, both of which were ordered by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in January.

The South Korean government believed it is more likely that the North’s constitution was actually amended. “There is currently no information to determine whether North Korea has revised its constitution and has not made it public, or whether it has not revised it at all,” said an official at the Ministry of Unification. Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said, “Although the constitution reflected the deletion of the unification provision, the establishment of a territorial provision, and the re-regulation of nationality, the North may have indirectly disclosed the constitutional amendment in consideration of its impact. Or it may have been comprehensively described in the preface to the constitution without including details in the provisions."

Another explanation for North Korea's lack of public disclosure of the constitutional amendment is that it is taking its time to build up the legitimacy and rationale for the reform, including the removal of the reunification clause. This is because reunification is the legacy of its leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, and the constitution also stipulates the predecessors’ efforts and orientation of reunification.

There is also a view that North Korea’s attempt to get out of the shadow of its predecessors by speeding up the process of idolizing Kim Jong-un as its solo leader is not irrelevant to the constitutional amendment. In particular, the North has recently stopped using the "Juche Yeonho,” which has been used for the past 27 years to honor Kim Il-sung. There is “Juche 113 (2024)” on the front page of Rodong Sinmun and its website on the 12th, but it has disappeared since the 13th.

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.