North Korea has concluded elections for the 15th Supreme People’s Assembly and will convene its inaugural session on March 22. The regime has announced plans to address amendments to the socialist constitution during this meeting, likely aiming to incorporate provisions that reinforce Kim Jong Un’s emphasis on the two hostile states framework between North and South Korea, as anticipated on Tuesday.
Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Workers’ Party, reported that 687 delegates were elected to the 15th Supreme People’s Assembly on March 15. This assembly functions similarly to the U.S. Congress, with delegates playing roles comparable to U.S. representatives.
The Standing Committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly has decided to convene the first session of the 15th Assembly in Pyongyang on March 22, as announced in Rodong Sinmun.
The inaugural meeting’s agenda includes constitutional amendments, electing the Chairman of the State Affairs Commission, selecting officials for state leadership agencies and assembly committees, implementing follow-up measures for the five-year economic plan set during the 9th Party Congress, and discussing last year’s budget settlement and this year’s budget.
The constitutional amendment is likely tied to North Korea’s two states policy, which has been promoted since late 2023. This initiative, driven by Kim, was first introduced during his speech at the party’s plenary meeting in December 2023. North Korea claims to have abandoned previous unification and inter-Korean policies, asserting that relations between North and South Korea have been redefined as state-to-state.
In January 2024, Kim instructed the Supreme People’s Assembly to define North Korea’s territory, territorial waters, and airspace in the constitution.
Subsequently, North Korea has taken steps to physically sever connections with South Korea, including cutting off inter-Korean roads and railways and erecting barriers near the military demarcation line. In official statements, they have referred to South Korea as Korea and used terms like airspace to designate the South as a separate country, although these changes have not yet been explicitly reflected in the constitution.
During the 9th Workers’ Party Congress last month, Kim further emphasized the severance of ties with South Korea. He declared a historical end to inter-Korean relations and stated that he had made a final, crucial decision to establish the most hostile state-to-state relationship, emphasizing that inter-Korean relations would not return to their previous state.
Experts anticipate that this constitutional amendment may formalize new borders for North Korea. Some speculate that North Korea has already drafted separate laws regarding the two states concept and may incorporate aspects of these laws or their underlying principles into the constitution, potentially revealing this information all at once.
If North Korea explicitly defines North and South Korea as separate countries in its constitution, it will likely be challenging to revert to the previous concept of a divided nation seeking unification.
Since 2022, North Korea has enacted the Nuclear Force Policy Law and incorporated its contents into the constitution, asserting that being a nuclear power is both a legal obligation and a right. Given their argument that denuclearization would be illegal, if the two-state concept is legalized, they are likely to make similar claims.
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, suggests that North Korea may define the northern part of the Korean Peninsula as its territory and declare the military demarcation line (DMZ) as a de facto border. However, he notes that regarding maritime boundaries, they may broadly assert their rights without proposing new baselines or specifying concrete borders to avoid unnecessary conflicts.
