This study aims to compare the revised Rules of the 8th Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea with the original Rules to understand the changes in the reunification views under Kim Jong Un. Significant changes in the reunification views were ident...
This study aims to compare the revised Rules of the 8th Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea with the original Rules to understand the changes in the reunification views under Kim Jong Un. Significant changes in the reunification views were identified in the revised Rules of the 8th Congress. The purpose of the Rules was changed from “national liberation and democratic revolution” to “realizing the independent and democratic development of society.” “Among our peoples,” an inter-Korean cooperation policy from the Kim Jong Il era, was removed, as well as narratives related to the united front tactics. While the South Korean Revolution Policy, the Workers’ Party of Korea’s strategy to-ward South Korea, has not essentially changed, the deletion of the word “revolution” can be interpreted as a de-prioritization of the South Korean revolution. In addition, the inter-Korean cooperation policy has been removed, and some expressions symbolizing North-South relations have been modified. This suggests that at the time of the 8th Congress, the path of the Kim Jong Un regime’s reunification view was set in the direction of “ethnic separation.”