North Korea has formally classified South Korea as an adversarial nation.
According to a statement from the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Thursday, North Korea has deemed South Korea as an "enemy" nation following a prolonged period of escalation. The report justified the destruction of infrastructure leading to South Korea, such as roads and railways, as a "mandatory and lawful move in line with the nation's constitution" that categorically identifies South Korea as a hostile entity. South Korea's Defense Ministry regarded this as a "unilateral assertion."
For the first time, the KCNA report acknowledged alterations to the country's constitution as per the orders of leader Kim Jong Un, which occurred in January. It stated that significant parts of the major roads and railway links connecting North and South Korea had been rendered inoperable by the military following strategic explosions. This action was tagged as "an essential component of the full, gradual severance" of North Korean territory from South Korean territory.
Concerning the incident, South Korea's military released surveillance footage on Tuesday displaying North Korean troops executing symbolic demolitions of the borders between the two territories. Insiders speculated that the explosions served solely as a propaganda tool. Furthermore, North Korea employed the footage provided by South Korea's military in its own public broadcasts.
Lastly, China, a key ally of North Korea, expressed its vigilance in monitoring the peninsula's events. China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning asserted that "preserving peace and stability" serves the benefit of "all parties involved."
The escalation of the situation between North and South Korea, as outlined in the KCNA report, has led North Korea to categorically identify South Korea as a hostile entity, justifying the destruction of infrastructure. This escalation has resulted in significant parts of the major roads and railway links between the two territories becoming inoperable.
