On September 14, both South Korean and Japanese media reported on North Korea's recent diplomatic moves. North Korea has actively informed its neighboring countries and the international community that they no longer regard South Korea as an object for unification, but instead view it as an enemy in a state of war.

In other words, North Korea has abandoned its past policy of advocating peaceful unification and now hopes that other countries will also recognize and support their new position.

According to reports, when Kim Jong-un came to China to attend the Beijing military parade, he formally conveyed this attitude to China and Russia. Putin expressed support for North Korea's decision, while China stated that it would continue to maintain neutrality and fairness, striving to maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

Several weeks ago, North Korea sent the head of the Academy of Social Sciences to Mongolia, which was the first visit to Mongolia in eight years. The purpose was to inform Mongolia that North Korea now views South Korea as a permanent hostile independent country, no longer pursuing unification.

Another sign is that North Korea will soon send its vice foreign minister to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly, preparing to explain their new stance towards South Korea to the world, emphasizing that they no longer seek unification and will continue to defend their nuclear program.

In addition to announcing externally, North Korea has also consistently promoted this new position domestically. South Korean media cited sources in Pyongyang saying that the Pyongyang City Committee has ordered the replacement of maps in the party headquarters, distributing new maps to align with this policy change.

The complete replacement of maps in Pyongyang has completely removed South Korea from "its own territory," becoming the most obvious symbol of de-South Koreanization. In previous maps, South Korea was called "South Korea," meaning that North Korea considered South Korea as part of itself. In the new version of the map, South Korea is directly marked as an independent country, using the same font as China and Russia, and even all the provincial and municipal divisions of South Korea have been deleted.

The South Korean Ministry of Unification has also confirmed this matter, stating that the map replacement started quietly last year, and by September, the National Foundation Day, it was fully implemented. Even more significantly, North Korea has ordered all units to replace the old maps, and even textbooks, promotional materials, and other propaganda materials are being updated simultaneously.

This behind-the-scenes shift reflects a major change in North Korea's attitude towards South Korea. Previously, they referred to them as "compatriots," but now they have become "enemies." Previously, they aimed for unification, but now they have simply regarded them as a "foreign country."

Analysts believe that such a significant change mainly has several reasons. One is that Kim Jong-un feels that the South Korean Yoon Suk-yeol government has been strong-willed and is no longer negotiable. Second, the continuous U.S.-South Korean joint military exercises and the deployment of nuclear submarines have made North Korea increasingly tense. Third, economically, North Korea has long been under sanctions, and the cost of unification is too high to bear.

Putin publicly expressing support indicates that Russia and North Korea are using the tension on the Korean Peninsula to exert pressure on the United States. Meanwhile, Mongolia, the United Nations, and others are pushing for the international community to accept the situation of "North and South Korea coexisting."

North Korea removing South Korea from its maps actually reflects that they no longer intend to unify with South Korea.

North Korea began gradually replacing maps last year, and by the time of the National Foundation Day in September, it required all national institutions to hang the new maps. According to media reports, Kim Jong-un officially conveyed this policy to China and Russia during his visit to China, and these two events were carried out simultaneously.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7550247972941726218/

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