Has the DPRK’s line on reunification changed and why ?-special article by Dr Dermot Hudson

 Has the DPRK’s line on reunification changed and why ?

Since the end of 2023 there has been quite a flurry of stories in the  imperialist mainstream media and from so -called ‘academic experts ‘ on Korea who are in the pay of the establishment and south Korean puppets about the line of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea(DPRK ) and the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) on reunification and the stance towards south Korea . A lot has been made of the fact that in his speech to the 10th session of the Supreme People’s Assembly , respected Marshal KIM JONG UN said that;

 “We should also completely remove the eye-sore "Monument to the Three Charters for National Reunification" standing at the southern gateway to the capital city of Pyongyang”

Some mainstream media reports suggested that the “Monument to the Three Charters for National Reunification” has indeed been removed but this is yet to be confirmed . 

What has happened is that the Workers Party of Korea held the 9th Plenary meeting of its 8th Central Committee at the end of December at which respected Marshal KIM JONG UN made a comprehensive speech which included setting out policies towards south Korea which did indeed mean a radical departure from the DPRK’s previous policy of peaceful reunification as manifested by the 1972 north-south joint statement and the line of founding a  Democratic Confederal Republic of Koryo that was advanced at the 6th Congress of the Workers Party of Korea in 1980 . Respected Marshal KIM JONG UN at the 9th Plenum of the 8th Central Committee of the WPK said that ;

   

"South Korea at present is nothing but a hemiplegic malformation and colonial subordinate state whose politics is completely out of order, whole society tainted by Yankee culture, and defence and security totally dependent on the U.S."

South Korea would now be regarded as an enemy and the DPRK would not seek reunification with it . Marshal KIM JONG UN pointed out at the Plenum that what all the south Korean puppet regimes had in common was that they aspired to overthrow the socialist system in the DPRK and reunify the country under ‘liberal democracy ‘ i.e. capitalism .

After the 9th plenum on the 1st of January the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA ) reported that the DPRK Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui “held a consultative meeting with officials concerned on January 1 to thoroughly carry out the tasks given by the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un at the historic 9th Plenary Meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea to dismantle and reform the bodies in charge of the affairs related to the south and the struggle against enemy and change the fundamental principle and orientation of the struggle.

Present there were Ri Son Gwon and other officials in charge of the affairs related to the south.”

On the 16th of January 2024 the 10th session of the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly respected Marshal KIM JONG UN made a policy speech which further clarified and developed the line on south Korea which had been laid down at the 9th Plenum of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers Party of Korea . Marshal KIM JONG UN said that the reality is that two states now exist on the Korean peninsula and that reconciliation with the south Korean puppets is impossible . This being the case Marshal KIM JONG UN said that the DPRK Constitution should be revised and that the borders of the DPRK towards the south should be clearly defined and the illegal 'northern limit line ' of the south Korean puppets. South Korea is now defined as a hostile state and No 1 enemy of the DPRK.

After the meeting of the Supreme People’s Assembly , KCNA reported that “ The Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on Monday issued a decision on abolishing the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country, the National Economic Cooperation Bureau and the Kumgangsan International Tourism Administration.

The two most hostile states, which are at war, are now in acute confrontation on the Korean peninsula, the decision said, and went on:

The reunification of Korea can never be achieved with the Republic of Korea which set it as its state policy to achieve the "unification by absorption" and "unification under liberal democracy". It is quite contrary to our national reunification line based on one nation, one state and two systems which we have adhered to for nearly 80 years.

It is a serious anachronistic mistake to regard the ROK as a partner for reconciliation and reunification any longer as it declared the DPRK as a "principal enemy" and is seeking only an opportunity for "bringing down the government" and achieving "unification by absorption" while keeping the uncontrollable crisis on the Korean peninsula in collusion with outside forces, the decision stressed.

Recognizing the stark historical reality and branding the ROK as the state most hostile to the DPRK, the Supreme People’s Assembly of the DPRK decided as follows:

1. The Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country, the National Economic Cooperation Bureau and the Kumgangsan International Tourism Administration, tools which existed for north-south dialogue, negotiations and cooperation, are abolished

2. The Cabinet and relevant organs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea will take practical measures to implement this decision.-”

So what is behind the change in policy towards south Korea ? Well although the DPRK made sincere and patient efforts for peaceful reunification including holding not one but 5 inter-Korean summits including an unprecedented  3 summits in 2018 . Despite all the summits and agreements between the DPRK and south Korea , reunification has not been achieved and there has been a cycle of tension being relaxed only to be increased again .Based on the experience since 1972 it is an inescapable conclusion that peaceful reunification is not possible because two systems antagonistic to each other on the Korean peninsula .

Moreover , the south Korean puppets have never given up on the idea of overthrowing the socialist system in the DPRK , basically annexing and colonising the DPRK similar to what was done to the old German Democratic Republic in 1989 . In my opinion past inter-Korean projects such as the Kaesong Industrial Park and Mt Kumgang Tourist Region were simply a conspiracy to try and spread the corrupt capitalist system into the DPRK .

The new policy of the DPRK is absolutely 100 percent correct .

Dr Dermot Hudson ,

Chairman of the British Group for the Study of the Juche Idea

KFA UK Chairman