North Korea rejects peace with South Korea

State media reported on Tuesday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un called for a rewrite of his country’s constitution so it doesn’t suggest the possibility of peaceful reunification with South Korea. The North’s new posture comes after it escalated missile tests in the Asia-Pacific region and after the South increased its joint military exercises with the United States.

What does this mean for the two Koreas and the region? South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday said that Kim’s comments highlight the “anti-nationalist” position of the North’s government. Kim says his country does not intend to start a war with South Korea but won’t avoid it if it comes. The Kim regime has previously authorized itself to use nuclear weapons in a preemptive strike if it deems it necessary.

Dig deeper: Read R. Albert Mohler Jr.’s column in WORLD Opinions about whether the U.S. is prepared to deal with a new “Axis of Evil” that includes North Korea.