Constitutional Inclusion of Nuclear Force Deployment: Strengthened Internal Security

Kim Myungsung

SAND's Secretary, General Editor for the SAND Newsletter

○ North Korea Takes a Defining Step with its 'Nuclear Power Strengthening Policy'

○ North Korea Dislikes "North Korea" Label, Calls South Korea "Puppet"

○ North Korean Antibiotic Manager Publicly Executed...Kim Jong-un Intensifies Reign of Terror

○ N. Korea spurs efforts to raise crop production during fall harvest season

North Korea Takes a Defining Step with its 'Nuclear Power Strengthening Policy'

In a significant move, North Korea has formalized its 'Nuclear Power Strengthening Policy', a mere year after its introduction in legislation. This momentous decision was confirmed during the recent 9th meeting of the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly in Pyongyang on the 26th and 27th as informed by the Korean Central News Agency.

14th Supreme People’s Assembly's 9th meeting at Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang, 26th-27th last month. / Photo by Korean Central News Agency/Yonhap.

At the top of the assembly's list was an amendment to the Socialist Constitution. The revision cements North Korea's stance as a nuclear nation committed to its survival, development, and the preservation of regional and global peace through enhanced nuclear prowess.

Interestingly, this isn't North Korea's first legislative step towards nuclear power. Last September, they laid the foundation with a policy that outlined the purpose and structure of nuclear power. During that assembly, Kim Jong-un resolutely announced that their nuclear status was now an irrevocable fact.

In his speech at this Supreme People’s Assembly, Kim Jong-un argued, "Regulating the nuclear power strengthening policy clearly in the supreme law of the state is the most legitimate and appropriate major measure, thoroughly in line with not only the immediate demands of the current era but also the legality and prospective demands of socialist state construction."

Especially as a major task, he ordered to "rapidly enhance nuclear power in terms of quantity," "exponentially increase nuclear weapon production," "realize diversification of nuclear strike means," and "strongly execute the project of operational deployment to various military branches."

North Korea Dislikes "North Korea" Label, Calls South Korea "Puppet"

During the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, North Korea labeled South Korea's national name as "puppet". In North Korea, this term is used to mean a "puppet" of the United States.

North Korean TV's coverage of the Hangzhou Asian Games soccer match, South Korea labeled as "puppet." / Photo by KCT

North Korea's Korean Central Television (KCTV) broadcasted the results of the women's soccer knockout match between South Korea and North Korea from the Hangzhou Asian Games, which took place on the 30th of last month, on the 2nd. In the broadcast, a caption at the bottom of the screen labeled North Korea as Joseon and South Korea as "puppet" alongside the score. The Rodong Sinmun newspaper also referred to South Korea as "puppet" in their coverage of the match on the 1st. Since the "South Korea-US Washington Declaration" in April, North Korea has been referring to South Korea as the "puppet region."

Sensitive to the naming of the two Koreas, North Korea, which has labeled South Korea as "puppet" in this Asian Games, has expressed disapproval towards the term "North Korea." After a women's basketball game between the North and South on the 29th of last month, a North Korean official responded sharply in a press conference when a reporter mentioned "North Korea," saying, "We are 'DPR Korea'. Do not call us 'North Korea'. It's offensive."

North Korean Antibiotic Manager Publicly Executed...Kim Jong-un Intensifies Reign of Terror

Following a public execution of a beef distributor in the border region at the end of August, North Korean authorities have recently executed a pharmaceutical manager in the same place. Observers suggest this highlights the increasing use of fear politics to consolidate Kim Jong-un's regime.

A drawing based on testimonies from North Korean defectors who witnessed public executions in North Korea (Unified Era People)

On the 2nd, RFA, drawing from sources in Ryanggang Province, reported a shocking event: nine managers, accused of illegal beef distribution, were publicly executed at Hyesan airfield. Just a few weeks prior, on the 25th, a man in his 40s faced a similar fate. Responsible for overseeing medicines at the No. 4 warehouse in Hyesan City, he was charged with the theft of a significant amount of stored penicillin.

According to sources, Hyesan City residents were instructed to assemble at the execution venue by midday. Yet, only housewives and a few officials heeded the call. In a departure from the past, daily activities weren't disrupted: factories, farms, and even the Jangmadang, a local market, remained open.

In a separate report by the specialized North Korean outlet Daily NK, three trading company executives met their end in Pyongyang this past September. Officially, they were accused of misappropriating funds meant for the Party. But analysts suggest these executions might be more symbolic, serving as a warning against unapproved individual smuggling.

N. Korea spurs efforts to raise crop production during fall harvest season

SEOUL, Oct. 2 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has been ramping up efforts to boost crop production during the fall harvest season amid expectations that the impoverished country's food shortages have improved, compared with the first half of the year.

The Rodong Sinmun, the North's main newspaper, recently carried a report that a "critical" time has come in attaining the goal of this year's grain production, while urging officials to lead efforts to produce satisfactory outcomes in the agricultural sector.

"It is essential for the country's provincial, city and county committees to well guide efforts to produce achievements in the agricultural sector with the attitude that they are fully responsible for the outcome of farming in their regions," North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was quoted as saying by the paper issued Sept. 23.

In a separate report, the newspaper also called on people to plant wheat and barley this year in an apparent bid to diversify crop production, which has been centered on rice and corn so far.

This image, captured from footage of North Korea's Korean Central Television on Sept. 3, 2023, shows a North Korean farmer harvesting rice in a county in North Pyongan Province. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

South Korea's unification ministry said the North's food situation appears to have improved, compared with the first six months of the year, on the back of an increase in the crop harvest and imports.

With deaths from starvation reported in some regions, North Korea has reportedly been facing serious food shortages, as its prolonged COVID-19 border closure and disruptions in state-controlled food supply have aggravated the situation.

Russian Ambassador to North Korea Alexander Matsegora said in a recent interview with Russia's state news agency TASS that North Korea turned down Russia's offer to provide food aid, saying it has had a "good harvest."

North Korea's crop production is estimated to have reached 4.51 million tons last year, down 3.8 percent from a year earlier, according to a report by the South's Rural Development Administration.