Kim Jong Un ditches reunification, sparks new Peninsula tensions

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) referenced the constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in a dispatch regarding the blowing up of the northern-side communication routes connecting the two Korean states.

"This is an inevitable and legitimate measure taken in keeping with the requirement of the DPRK Constitution which clearly defines the ROK as a hostile state, and due to the serious security circumstances running to the unpredictable brink of war owing to the grave political and military provocations of the hostile forces," KCNA stated in an English-language article.

Citing the North Korean Ministry of Defense, the agency reported that 60-yard sections of two pairs of highway and railway tracks were blown up. These include routes along the Gyeongui line, which connects the city of Paju in the South to Kaesong in the North, and the Donghae line, which runs along the peninsula's eastern coast.

Last week, KCNA reported that during the 11th session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly (SPA), it was unanimously decided to amend and supplement parts of the country's socialist constitution, but details were not disclosed. On January 15, Kim Jong Un called in a speech before the SPA for South Korea to be recognized as the "main enemy" in the constitution and to remove certain terms like "peaceful reunification" from the fundamental law.

In line with the new policy direction, remnants of the past era, such as the glaring Reunification Monument in Pyongyang, have been dismantled. Institutions related to promoting inter-Korean dialogue and cooperation have also been closed.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared that the destruction of the communication routes linking the two Korean states marked the end of the "unreasonable idea of reunification," the North Korean agency KCNA reported.

Kim saw the demolition of 60-yard sections of two roads and railway lines leading to the border with South Korea as the "means not only the physical closure but also the end of the evil relationship with Seoul which persistently lasted century after century... and unreasonable idea of reunification."

It also constitutes the final declaration that if the sovereignty of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is violated by the Republic of Korea, the hostile country's physical forces will be used without hesitation, and the leader threatened.

Tensions between the two neighbors have been escalating since last year, when, following Pyongyang's launch of a spy satellite, both sides announced that the agreement signed in 2018 aimed at easing military tensions is no longer valid. According to observers, relations between Pyongyang and Seoul have been the worst in decades.

In recent days, North Korea has sharply intensified its hostile rhetoric, accusing the South of violating its airspace by flying drones over the capital. Pyongyang announced retaliatory actions, not ruling out the use of nuclear weapons.

North and South Korea have formally been at war for over 70 years since the armed conflict from 1950 to 1953 ended with the signing of an armistice, not a peace treaty.