North Korean leader Kim Jong Un did the unthinkable when he renounced the idea of peaceful reunification with the South, with the recent reveal of constitutional revisions highlighting how the regime has institutionalized the new hardline policy.

But what has arguably flown under the radar is what this policy change revealed about the DPRK’s position — weakness.

Rejecting reunification underscored how the ideological threat of South Korean culture and a lack of leverage with Seoul had placed Pyongyang on its back foot, while the DPRK military’s decision to pull back from threats to enforce