North Korea Drops New Constitution: 4 Major Changes

U.S.NewsPoliticsAI PoliticsTechFact CheckSportsGlobalIran WarRussia-UkraineMiddle EastChina And AsiaLive BlogBetter PlanetAll World NewsLifestyleFamily & ParentingEntertainmentTravelPetsAutomotiveRelationshipsScienceHealthPersonal FinanceBetter WorkplacesReaders ChoiceOpinionMy TurnAll OpinionRankingsHealthCorporate ResponsibilityFinanceProductsEducationWorkAll RankingsWatchThe 1600The Royal ReportUnconventionalFrom The PaddockNewsmakersSocialFacebookInstagramYouTubeRedditTikTokTwitter/XExtraNewslettersDare to DreamEventsEssaysPodcastsVantageInsightsMagazineCEO CircleAnnouncementsLeadershipDev Pragad North Korea has revised its constitution with four key changes, which include entrenching a hardline position towards South Korea and strengthening leader Kim Jong Un’s authority over its nuclear forces. The document reemerged after being offline for two and a half years and removed any commitment to reunification with South Korea. "North Korea’s constitutional change reflects what we have known for the past three years, namely, that North Korea does not want anything to do with South Korea," Edward Howell, author of A New Axis of Upheaval: North Korea, Russia, China, Iran, told Newsweek on Thursday. What Happened To North Korea’s Constitution? North Korea’s constitution had been offline since March 2024, months after Kim had declared at a party plenary meeting in late 2023 that the two Koreas are separate, hostile states. The document was amended at the first session of the 15th Supreme People’s Assembly on March 23, according to the Korea JoongAng Daily, which is published in the south. The publication reported that the new constitution chimes with a revised version obtained by South Korea’s Ministry of Unification earlier this year. The amended document was published online on Wednesday on the propaganda website Naenara and has four key changes: Article 2 of the constitution has been revised to define North Korean territory as land bordering China and Russia to the north and South Korea to the south, as well as associated airspace and waters. It also states that South Korea is a separate country and does not specify clear land or maritime borders. South Korean news organization Asiae.kr reported that the wording of the constitution could be an attempt to maintain the two-states line while avoiding language that explicitly expresses hostility or specifies a maritime boundary. "Pyongyang no longer views Seoul as part of the same—albeit divided—Korean Peninsula, and the Kim Jong Un regime is making clear that South Korea is now a permanent, principal enemy," said Howell, a lecturer and research fellow at the University of Oxford, England. South Korea's progressive, left-leaning president Lee Jae Myung has tried to lower tensions since he took office last year, saying he would reject forced or “absorption” unification. In August this year, he also called for negotiations towards a “peace regime” to replace the armistice that stopped but did not formally end the Korean War in 1953. However, North Korea’s leader has not mirrored this rhetoric, saying at the party congress in February that North Korea had “absolutely no business dealing with South Korea.” At a Supreme People's Assembly meeting in January 2024, Kim had ordered the removal of constitutional references to the "northern half" of Korea. The revised constitution reflects this stance, with expressions such as "peaceful unification" and "national unity" removed. Howell noted how soon after Lee came to power in 2025, Kim Yo Jong, the sister of Kim Jong Un, swiftly denounced Seoul’s maneuvers for reconciliation as “appeasement offensives” "The constitutional change only confirms this sentiment," Howell said. "Pyongyang wants to send a clear signal to Seoul that North Korea does not care for the current South Korean government’s desires to reconcile ties." The amended constitution also highlights Kim’s powers to veto parliamentary decisions and remove lawmakers who lose “the confidence of the people,” the English-language NK News reported. The preamble reduces the emphasis on previous leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, which is in keeping with Kim Jong Un’s growing cult of personality, the publication added. In addition to entrenching Kim’s role in political life, the revised text also increases his powers as chairman of the State Affairs Commission over nuclear forces. This follows increasing concerns about Pyongyang’s nuclear program following tests of ballistic and nuclear-capable missile systems this year. This included an intermediate-range strategic missile linked to its hypersonic weapons program being tested on October 3. The launch was a protest against the successful launch of South Korea’s hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV), South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) spokesperson Jang Do-young said. On October 12, Pyongyang tested ballistic missiles, including a test intended to verify a technical upgrade to a tactical ballistic missile system. It also comes only weeks after Kim toured a new weapons museum showcasing a Hwasong-20 ICBM that Pyongyang says can reach the U.S. mainland. What Are The Latest Tensions Between the Koreas? On September 21, a landmine blast inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) wounded three South Korean soldiers, which a probe concluded were North Korean-made. North Korea denied responsibility in a letter to the UN Security Council. But Pyongyang is escalating on two fronts along the DMZ with a fortification push on the ground, and a weapons-testing pace that keeps climbing, according to the analysis firm Armed Conflict and Location Event Data (ACLED). Howell said that the constitutional change allows North Korea to frame South Korea as an aggressor state, since it is now only the South Korean constitution that deems the reunification of the Korean Peninsula (under South Korea’s control) as a policy objective. "What is more, North Korea can seek to marginalize South Korea in any talks between Pyongyang and Washington," he said.10Loading video…By Brendan ColeSenior Reporter

0ShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberSee more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.North Korea has revised its constitution with four key changes, which include entrenching a hardline position towards South Korea and strengthening leader Kim Jong Un’s authority over its nuclear forces.

The document reemerged after being offline for two and a half years and removed any commitment to reunification with South Korea.

“North Korea’s constitutional change reflects what we have known for the past three years, namely, that North Korea does not want anything to do with South Korea,” Edward Howell, author of A New Axis of Upheaval: North Korea, Russia, China, Iran, told Newsweek on Thursday.

North Korea’s constitution had been offline since March 2024, months after Kim had declared at a party plenary meeting in late 2023 that the two Koreas are separate, hostile states.

The document was amended at the first session of the 15th Supreme People’s Assembly on March 23, according to the Korea JoongAng Daily, which is published in the south.

The publication reported that the new constitution chimes with a revised version obtained by South Korea’s Ministry of Unification earlier this year.

The amended document was published online on Wednesday on the propaganda website Naenara and has four key changes:

Article 2 of the constitution has been revised to define North Korean territory as land bordering China and Russia to the north and South Korea to the south, as well as associated airspace and waters.

It also states that South Korea is a separate country and does not specify clear land or maritime borders.

South Korean news organization Asiae.kr reported that the wording of the constitution could be an attempt to maintain the two-states line while avoiding language that explicitly expresses hostility or specifies a maritime boundary.

“Pyongyang no longer views Seoul as part of the same—albeit divided—Korean Peninsula, and the Kim Jong Un regime is making clear that South Korea is now a permanent, principal enemy,” said Howell, a lecturer and research fellow at the University of Oxford, England.

South Korea’s progressive, left-leaning president Lee Jae Myung has tried to lower tensions since he took office last year, saying he would reject forced or “absorption” unification.

In August this year, he also called for negotiations towards a “peace regime” to replace the armistice that stopped but did not formally end the Korean War in 1953.

However, North Korea’s leader has not mirrored this rhetoric, saying at the party congress in February that North Korea had “absolutely no business dealing with South Korea.”

At a Supreme People’s Assembly meeting in January 2024, Kim had ordered the removal of constitutional references to the “northern half” of Korea.

The revised constitution reflects this stance, with expressions such as “peaceful unification” and “national unity” removed.

Howell noted how soon after Lee came to power in 2025, Kim Yo Jong, the sister of Kim Jong Un, swiftly denounced Seoul’s maneuvers for reconciliation as “appeasement offensives”

“The constitutional change only confirms this sentiment,” Howell said. “Pyongyang wants to send a clear signal to Seoul that North Korea does not care for the current South Korean government’s desires to reconcile ties.”

The amended constitution also highlights Kim’s powers to veto parliamentary decisions and remove lawmakers who lose “the confidence of the people,” the English-language NK News reported.

The preamble reduces the emphasis on previous leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, which is in keeping with Kim Jong Un’s growing cult of personality, the publication added.

In addition to entrenching Kim’s role in political life, the revised text also increases his powers as chairman of the State Affairs Commission over nuclear forces.

This follows increasing concerns about Pyongyang’s nuclear program following tests of ballistic and nuclear-capable missile systems this year.

This included an intermediate-range strategic missile linked to its hypersonic weapons program being tested on October 3.

The launch was a protest against the successful launch of South Korea’s hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV), South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) spokesperson Jang Do-young said.

On October 12, Pyongyang tested ballistic missiles, including a test intended to verify a technical upgrade to a tactical ballistic missile system.

It also comes only weeks after Kim toured a new weapons museum showcasing a Hwasong-20 ICBM that Pyongyang says can reach the U.S. mainland.

On September 21, a landmine blast inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) wounded three South Korean soldiers, which a probe concluded were North Korean-made.

North Korea denied responsibility in a letter to the UN Security Council.

But Pyongyang is escalating on two fronts along the DMZ with a fortification push on the ground, and a weapons-testing pace that keeps climbing, according to the analysis firm Armed Conflict and Location Event Data (ACLED).

Howell said that the constitutional change allows North Korea to frame South Korea as an aggressor state, since it is now only the South Korean constitution that deems the reunification of the Korean Peninsula (under South Korea’s control) as a policy objective.

“What is more, North Korea can seek to marginalize South Korea in any talks between Pyongyang and Washington,” he said.