North Korea’s Ruling Party Removes Peaceful Reunification Clause from Charter
World
The Workers’ Party of Korea, North Korea’s ruling party, has removed a provision on peaceful reunification with South Korea from its charter. The revised document was published by the Seoul Institute for National Security Strategy.
South Korean intelligence had previously reported that the party charter was revised in June 2024, but its specific wording had not been made public until now.
The updated charter also expands Kim Jong Un’s powers. At the same time, references to the achievements of his predecessors — North Korea’s founder Kim Il Sung and his father, Kim Jong Il — have been removed from the document.
The change is interpreted as an attempt to consolidate the third-generation leader’s status as the party’s sole and undisputed head.
The revised charter also removes references to the US military presence in South Korea and to “external forces”. Experts view the changes as reinforcing Pyongyang’s position that North and South Korea are completely separate states and are no longer linked by a common national identity.
The removal of the peaceful reunification provision from the party charter marks another change in North Korea’s official approach to relations with South Korea. Earlier, at Kim Jong Un’s insistence, the notion of peaceful reunification had also been removed from the country’s Constitution.
The new charter therefore changes the wording concerning inter-Korean relations while strengthening the role of the current leader within the ruling party.
The updated charter also expands Kim Jong Un’s powers. At the same time, references to the achievements of his predecessors — North Korea’s founder Kim Il Sung and his father, Kim Jong Il — have been removed from the document.
The change is interpreted as an attempt to consolidate the third-generation leader’s status as the party’s sole and undisputed head.
The revised charter also removes references to the US military presence in South Korea and to “external forces”. Experts view the changes as reinforcing Pyongyang’s position that North and South Korea are completely separate states and are no longer linked by a common national identity.
The removal of the peaceful reunification provision from the party charter marks another change in North Korea’s official approach to relations with South Korea. Earlier, at Kim Jong Un’s insistence, the notion of peaceful reunification had also been removed from the country’s Constitution.
The new charter therefore changes the wording concerning inter-Korean relations while strengthening the role of the current leader within the ruling party.
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