Pyongyang makes new move, tensions continue to rise on the Korean peninsula

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called for a constitutional amendment to designate South Korea as the "number one hostile state" and codify a commitment to "mastery" of South Korean territory in the event of conflict, state news agency KCNA reported on January 16.

KCNA said Mr. Kim spoke at the 10th session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly (North Korea's parliament ) on January 15. In his speech, the leader called for building a legal basis to determine that South Korea is not a partner for reconciliation and unification.

Mr. Kim spoke at the North Korean parliament session on January 15.

"In case of a war on the Korean Peninsula, it is important to consider the issue of mastering, overwhelming, retaking South Korea and annexing it to the DPRK," KCNA quoted Kim as saying, according to Yonhap. The leader of Pyongyang also said that South Korea should be designated as "the No. 1 hostile state and the main and unchangeable enemy" in the North's constitution. According to KCNA, the North's parliament has also decided to abolish agencies in charge of inter-Korean affairs. These agencies include the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, the National Economic Cooperation Administration and the Kumgangsan International Tourism Organization.

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KCNA said Pyongyang would disband the agencies that exist solely to promote inter-Korean dialogue and cooperation. The North Korean government and relevant agencies will take "practical" measures to implement the decision of the parliament. The parliamentary session comes as Mr Kim defined relations between the country and South Korea as those between "two hostile countries" at a plenum of the ruling party late last year. Mr Kim said efforts to promote reunification between the two Koreas were a "mistake" that should not be repeated. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) - the official names of the two states that coexist on the Korean Peninsula - were both established in 1948. However, each country still considers the other an illegitimate entity and the two sides are still technically at war because a peace treaty has not been reached. In their constitutions, both North and South Korea claim sovereignty over the entire Korean Peninsula. Until now, diplomatic relations between the two sides have been handled by the Unification Ministry in Seoul and the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland in Pyongyang, according to AFP.

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