North Korea has revised its constitution to require an automatic nuclear strike if supreme leader Kim Jong-un is assassinated or incapacitated during an attack by a foreign enemy, reported Telegraph. The constitutional change came after the killing of former Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei and several senior Iranian officials during the joint US-Israeli strikes on Tehran in March. According to South Korea’s intelligence agency, the attacks deeply alarmed Pyongyang and increased fears that a similar “decapitation strike” could one day target North Korea’s leadership.
The revised policy was adopted during the first session of the 15th Supreme People’s Assembly, which opened on March 22 in Pyongyang, reported The Telegraph. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service later briefed senior government officials about the changes.
Under the new constitutional language, Kim remains the commander of North Korea’s nuclear forces. However, the law now officially defines how the country must respond if he is killed or loses control during a military attack.
The revised Article 3 of North Korea’s nuclear policy law states: “If the command-and-control system over the state’s nuclear forces is placed in danger by hostile forces’ attacks … a nuclear strike shall be launched automatically and immediately.”
Why did North Korea change its nuclear policy?
Security experts believe the Iran strikes shocked North Korea’s leadership. The speed and precision of the attacks reportedly convinced Pyongyang that foreign powers could attempt a similar operation against Kim Jong-un and senior military officials.
Andrei Lankov, a professor of history and international relations at Kookmin University in Seoul, said the Iran operation became a major warning sign for North Korea. “Iran was the wake-up call,” Lankov said.
“North Korea saw the remarkable efficiency of the US-Israeli decapitation attacks, which immediately eliminated the greater part of the Iranian leadership, and they must now be terrified,” Lankov added. He said the policy may have already existed unofficially but now carries greater importance because it has become part of the constitution.
Experts say carrying out a similar attack inside North Korea would be much more difficult than in Iran. The country remains one of the world’s most isolated states. Foreign diplomats, aid workers and business visitors face strict surveillance, making intelligence gathering extremely difficult.
Israeli intelligence tracked Iranian leaders through hacked traffic cameras and digital monitoring systems, according to local Iranian media reports. Analysts believe such tactics would be far harder in Pyongyang because North Korea has limited CCTV systems and a tightly controlled internal internet network, reported Telegraph.
Kim Jong-un also maintains extremely strict personal security measures. He usually travels with large groups of armed bodyguards and avoids air travel. Instead, he often uses a heavily armoured train for domestic and international trips.
Lankov said North Korea now fears satellite tracking technology more than traditional spying methods. “Their biggest fear is going to be information from satellite technology,” he said. “And, on balance, their concerns are not unfounded as taking out the leadership at the outset of any conflict is likely to be decisive,” he added.
According to Lankov, North Korea’s military leadership would likely follow orders for nuclear retaliation if Kim were attacked because the country’s officers view any foreign strike as an existential threat. “I see no likelihood of an attack coming from South Korea so any retaliation would be aimed at the United States,” he said.
What new military steps is North Korea taking?
North Korea has also increased military pressure on South Korea by announcing plans to deploy a new long-range artillery system near the border. State media outlet Korean Central News Agency said Kim recently visited a weapons factory to inspect production of a “new-type 155-millimetre self-propelled gun-howitzer.”
According to KCNA, the artillery system has a range of more than 37 miles and will be deployed this year near the South Korean border. The development places central Seoul, which lies roughly 35 miles from the border, within direct striking range. Large parts of Gyeonggi province, one of South Korea’s most populated and industrially important regions, could also face increased military threat.
KCNA quoted Kim as saying the new howitzer would “provide significant changes and advantages to our military’s ground operations.” Relations between North and South Korea have sharply worsened in recent years despite repeated peace efforts from Seoul. North Korea now openly describes South Korea as its main enemy and recently removed references to Korean reunification from its constitution.
The two Koreas technically remain at war because the 1950-1953 Korean War ended with an armistice agreement instead of a formal peace treaty, reported The Telegraph.