North Korea Reaffirms Hostile Stance Toward South... Kim Jong Un: "We Will Thoroughly Reject Enemy South Korea" (Comprehensive)

In Policy Speech at Supreme People's Assembly,

Threatens "Merciless Retaliation if Provoked"...

Emphasizes "Absolute Non-Retreat from Nuclear-Armed State Status" with U.S. Negotiations in Mind

North Korea has reaffirmed its hardline hostile stance toward South Korea and is moving to strengthen its independent position as a "nuclear-armed state."

According to the Korean Central News Agency on March 24, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivered a policy speech at the 1st session of the 15th Supreme People's Assembly held in Pyongyang the previous day, declaring, "We will officially recognize South Korea as the most hostile nation, thoroughly reject and ignore it with unequivocal words and actions," and threatening, "Any act by South Korea that touches our republic will be met with merciless retaliation, without even the slightest hesitation or consideration."

North Korea held the 1st session of the 15th Supreme People's Assembly in Pyongyang on the 22nd, attended by Chairman Kim Jong Un, and reappointed Kim Jong Un as Chairman of the State Affairs Commission, Chosun Central TV reported on the 23rd. [Chosun Central TV screen] 2026.3.23 Yonhap News Agency

In addition, Chairman Kim emphasized "absolute non-retreat from nuclear-armed state status," stating that "we are prepared to respond to any choice." This appears to be a strong declaration that, while keeping future negotiations with the United States in mind, North Korea will not compromise on its "nuclear-armed state status." Hong Min, Senior Research Fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, analyzed, "This distances itself from the compensation-based agreements or economic support deals that characterized the denuclearization negotiations during the first Trump administration," adding, "North Korea is expressing its opposition to negotiation logic based on economic compensation or the lifting of sanctions in the future."

It has not been confirmed whether the issue of reflecting the "two hostile states" in the constitution, which was the main point of interest at this Supreme People's Assembly, was addressed. However, it is notable that Chairman Kim referred to the constitution as the "Republic Constitution" rather than the "Socialist Constitution." Lim Eulchul, Professor at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University, commented, "The removal of the word 'socialist' and renaming the constitution is highly symbolic," adding, "It signifies a complete abandonment of ideological solidarity and ethnic particularity with South Korea, and is a declaration that North Korea now intends to exist solely as a 'separate major power,' rather than as a partner for 'unification.'" Furthermore, based on Kim's remarks, "it is presumed that South Korea has been codified in law as a 'de facto belligerent state' and the 'number one main enemy,'" and "this is a declaration that goes beyond 'contacting the U.S. while blocking the South,' aiming to completely deny South Korea's existence."

Regarding this, an official from the Ministry of Unification commented, "This is a reaffirmation of the domestic and foreign policy direction announced at the 9th Party Congress," and added, "The government will continue to consistently pursue a 'peaceful coexistence' policy."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.