Seoul analyzing N. Korea's revised constitution: spokesperson

By Tony Chang
SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Yonhap) -- Seoul is analyzing North Korea's constitution, which
is believed to have been revised earlier this year to bolster the authority of
the country's leader Kim Jong-il, the government said Friday.
"The government has obtained the full text of the North's constitution and is
currently studying it," Lee Jong-ju, unification ministry's spokesperson, said at
a press briefing.
Radio Free Asia reported Thursday that the Supreme People's Assembly of North
Korea revised the country's constitution in April, apparently further
strengthening the legitimacy of leader Kim's rule by dropping the use of the term
"communism" and replacing it with "songun," or military-first policy, for the
first time in the constitution.
Songun is the North's ruling philosophy that has been in place since leader Kim
took power after his father and the North's founder, Kim Il-sung, died in 1994.
"What we have learned of the constitution seems to be in line with recent media
reports," Lee said.
The government will decide whether to disclose the obtained full text after it
completes the analysis, she added.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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