South Korea's presidential office said Tuesday it would "comprehensively review relevant matters" after North Korea revised its constitution to add a new territorial clause defining only the northern half of the peninsula as its territory.
"We will comprehensively review matters related to trends in North Korea's constitutional revision," a presidential office official said. "Based on this comprehensive review, the government will consistently pursue a policy of peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula."
According to the full text of North Korea's new constitution disclosed at a press briefing for Ministry of Unification reporters the previous day, terms reflecting inter-Korean kinship and unification concepts — including "northern half," "national reunification," and "complete victory of socialism" — have been removed from the preamble and main text of the constitution that was in place at the time of the "two-state relations" declaration (revised in September 2023).
A new territorial provision was also added, stating that "the territory borders the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation to the north and the Republic of Korea to the south, and includes the territorial waters and airspace established on that basis."
