North Korea Changes Flag Proportions in Revised Constitution That Removes 'Reunification'... First Since Founding

North Korea has amended the constitutional ratio of its national flag from 1:2 to 1:1.65. This is the first time the flag’s proportions have been changed since the country was founded in 1948.

North Korean athletes hold national flags at the cheering section during the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Nishio Gymnasium in Nishio, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on September 9. Yonhap News Agency

Article 166 of Chapter VII, “National Emblem, National Flag, National Anthem and Capital,” in the revised constitution, published on November 13 by Naenara, North Korea’s external propaganda outlet, states that “the ratio of the flag’s height to its width is 1:1.65.” This revises the 1:2 ratio that remained in place through the constitutional revision adopted at the Ninth Session of the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly in September 2023. The flag remains a rectangle wider than it is tall, but it is now less elongated horizontally than before.

The basic design, including the red star and colors, remains unchanged. Article 166 states that “the flag has a wide red stripe in the middle, narrow white stripes above and below it, and blue stripes next to them; a red five-pointed star is set inside a white circle on the side of the red stripe nearest the flagpole.”

Naenara explained that the red stripe symbolizes the blood of anti-Japanese revolutionary fighters, while the white circle and stripes symbolize loyalty to the Party and the leader. It said the blue stripes represent the revolutionary spirit for peace, friendship and unity, as well as North Korea’s sovereignty. However, it did not mention the reason for changing the proportions.

North Korea has continued to reflect its policy of treating the two Koreas as separate states in its national symbols. In 2024, it changed “Samcheolli,” a reference to the entire Korean Peninsula, to “this world” in the lyrics of its national anthem, and began using “National Anthem” instead of “Aegukga.” The change to the flag’s proportions is also seen as part of a broader effort to highlight the national identity of the Kim Jong Un era while inheriting symbols from previous generations of leaders.

The revised constitution, whose publication by Naenara was confirmed on November 11, also defines North Korea’s territory in Article 2 as the land bordering China and Russia to the north and the Republic of Korea to the south, along with the territorial waters and airspace based on that territory. References to national reunification have been removed, but South Korea is not explicitly described as either the “No. 1 enemy” or an “unchanging principal enemy.” The constitution was republished about two years and eight months after North Korea disabled the constitution section of its website in March 2024. Its main provisions largely match those of the revised constitution published by South Korea’s Ministry of Unification in May.

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