North Korea changed the lyrics of its national anthem

North Korea has changed the lyrics of its national anthem by removing the verses that express the entire Korean Peninsula. Amid escalating tensions with South Korea, North Korea changed the lyrics of its national anthem. The phrase “My beautiful homeland of three thousand li,” expressing the entire Korean Peninsula, was removed from the anthem and replaced with “My beautiful homeland in the world.” The change was interpreted as a sign of Kim Jong-Un’s abandonment of the goal of reunification with South Korea.

Had abandoned the goal of reunification with South Korea North Korea‘s consecutive missile tests and joint military exercises between the US and South Korea in recent months have raised tensions in and around the Korean Peninsula. Kim announced at the end of last year that they had abandoned the goal of reunification with South Korea, defining the relationship between Pyongyang and Seoul as that of “two enemy states.”

Mutual provocations had increased concerns of conflict Most recently, Kim stated that they do not recognize the “northern boundary line,” the maritime border accepted by Seoul, saying, “When our enemy crosses the sea border accepted by us, we will consider it a violation of North Korea’s sovereignty and an armed provocation.” In response, the South Korean military stated that the actual maritime border, which Kim refused to recognize and pledged to defend using force, would be “firmly defended.” The developments had raised concerns about military conflict in the region.