North Korea says its revised constitution defines South Korea as 'hostile state' for first time

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea confirmed Thursday that its recently revised constitution defines South Korea as “a hostile state" for the first time, two days after it blew up front-line road and rail links that once connected the country with the South.

North Korea’s rubber-stamp parliament met for two days last week to rewrite the constitution but state media hadn’t immediately provided many details about the session. Leader Kim Jong Un had called for the constitutional change at that parliamentary meeting to designate South Korea as the country’s main enemy, remove the goal of a peaceful Korean unification and define the North’s sovereign, territorial sphere.

The official Korean Central News Agency said Thursday that its recent demolition of parts of the northern sections of the inter-Korean road and rail links was “an inevitable and legitimate measure taken in keeping with the requirement of the DPRK constitution which clearly defines the ROK as a hostile state.”

DPRK stands for Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name, while ROK stands for Republic of Korea, the South's formal name.

KCNA gave no further details of the new constitution. An earlier KCNA report on the Oct. 7-8 meeting of the Supreme People's Assembly only said the constitution was revised to amend the legal ages of North Koreans for working and participating in elections, but didn't say whether the meeting dealt with Kim's demand as well.

“There may still be an internal propaganda review underway about the appropriate way to disclose the constitutional revisions, but this confirmation was expected,” said Ankit Panda, an expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Kim’s order in January to rewrite the constitution caught many foreign experts by surprise because it was seen as eliminating the idea of shared statehood between the war-divided Koreas and breaking away with his predecessors’ long-cherished dreams of peacefully achieving a unified Korea on the North’s terms. In the past months, North Korea has torn down monuments symbolizing rapprochement with South Korea and abolished state agencies handling inter-Korean relations.

Some experts say Kim likely aims to guard against South Korean cultural influence and bolster his family's dynastic rule. Others say Kim wants legal room to use his nuclear weapons against South Korea by making it as a foreign enemy state, not a partner for potential unification which shares a sense of national homogeneity. They say Kim may also want to seek direct dealings with the U.S. in future diplomacy on its nuclear program, not via South Korea.

KCNA, citing North Korea’s Defense Ministry, reported that North Korea blew up the 60-meter-long (197 feet) sections of two pairs of the roads and railway routes — one pair on the western portion of the inter-Korean border and the other on the eastern side of the border.

Largely built with South Korean money, the road and rail links were a symbol of now-dormant inter-Korean reconciliation movements. In the 2000s, the two Koreas reconnected the road and rail routes for the first time since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, but their operations were halted later as the rivals bickered over North Korea's nuclear ambitions and other issues.

Last week, North Korea said it would permanently block its border with South Korea and build front-line defense structures. South Korean officials said North Korea had been adding anti-tank barriers and laying mines along the border since earlier this year.

Friday's KCNA dispatch cited North Korea's Defense Ministry as saying that North Korea will continue to take measures to permanently fortify the closed southern border.

Animosities between the Koreas increased in recent days, with North Korea accusing South Korea of flying drones over its capital Pyongyang three times this month and vowing strong military responses if similar incidents happen again. South Korea has refused to confirm whether it sent drones but warned that North Korea will face a regime demise if the safety of South Korean citizens is threatened.

Many observers say North Korea won't likely launch full-blown attacks on South Korea because it knows its military is outgunned by the U.S. and South Korean forces. But they say a miscalculation could still lead to border clashes.

Intense outside attention has been on whether the North Korean constitutional change includes new legal, territorial claims around the Koreas' disputed western sea boundary, the site where three bloody naval skirmishes and two deadly attacks blamed on North Korea happened in the past 25 years.

“South Korea and the United States need not overreact to North Korean moves. The recent drone incident raises the possibility of miscalculation and escalation," Panda, the expert, said.

This photo provided by the North Korean government, shows a demolition of parts of the northern sections of unused road and rail links that once connected the country with the South, seen from North Korea Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

This photo provided by the North Korean government, shows a demolition of parts of the northern sections of unused road and rail links that once connected the country with the South, seen from North Korea Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

A visitor looks at a map of railroad and road between two Koreas cities, South's Munsan and North's Kaesong, at the Imjingak Pavilion in Paju, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota school district has banned a police officer from working as a substitute teacher after a series of “racially harmful” actions that officials say included putting a student on the ground for a reenactment of the 2020 murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis officer.

The staffing agency that placed him at Woodbury High School said Wednesday that he also no longer works for them, while the Prescott, Wisconsin, Police Department put him on administrative leave pending an internal investigation.

The man was serving as a substitute English teacher on Monday when he told students in four separate 10th and 12th grade classes that they might want to hear about his life as a police officer, school officials said in a letter to students, families and staff.

Besides the reenactment of the actions that led to the death of George Floyd, students also complained that the substitute teacher “repeatedly made racially harmful comments,” “told sexist jokes," “spoke in disturbing detail about dead bodies he had seen,” said “cops would be the best criminals” because “they know how to get away with stuff,” and “stated that police brutality isn't real,” according to the letter.

The letter was signed by the principal of Woodbury High School and the superintendent and assistant superintendent of the South Washington County Schools district. It said the man is now prohibited from setting foot on district property. They also said they reported the incident to the Minnesota Department of Education, the state teacher licensing board and the Woodbury Police Department.

Floyd died after a white officer pinned his neck to the pavement for 9 1/2 minutes despite the Black man's dying pleas of “I can't breathe.” Children were among the concerned witnesses, including a teen who captured the video, which was widely viewed on social media. The officer, Derek Chauvin, was convicted of murder.

Floyd's death touched off protests that sometimes turned violent, testing the leadership of Gov. Tim Walz at one of the state’s most consequential moments, and sparking a nationwide reckoning over racial discrimination and police misconduct.

“I specifically want to acknowledge racial harm that occurred when the substitute teacher reenacted the prone restraint that resulted in the murder of George Floyd,” Principal Sarah Sorenson-Wanger wrote.

“This reported behavior is reprehensible. I am embarrassed, and I am sorry this happened to our students. We will take as much time as students need to listen and create open space for courageous conversations that lead to healing, action and education. The reported actions are not, and will not, be tolerated at Woodbury High School or in South Washington County Schools,” the principal wrote.

The city of Prescott, Wisconsin, later Wednesday identified him as Patrol Officer Steve Williams, a two-year veteran of the department. He was off duty and not serving in an official capacity, the city said in a statement.

“The City of Prescott and the Prescott Police Department find the current allegations, if true, made against Mr. Williams to be very disturbing, reprehensible, and we in no way condone his actions,” the statement said.

A Pierce County, Wisconsin, dispatcher said Williams was not working Wednesday and would not take a message for him.

Woodbury is a suburb southeast of St. Paul, and the eastern suburbs of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area extend into western Wisconsin, including Prescott.

The substitute was hired through Teachers on Call, a staffing agency that's part of the national Kelly Education employment network. The company said Williams passed comprehensive background checks before he was placed.

“The actions of this individual were unacceptable, and the substitute teacher is no longer an employee of Teachers on Call," company spokesperson Danielle Nixon said in a statement. “We recognize the significant public trust placed in us to ensure our substitute educators maintain a safe learning environment. We have a zero-tolerance policy for any form of violent, aggressive, or harmful behavior.”

Citing the ongoing investigation, she added that Teachers on Call is not releasing any additional information on its former employee.

Woodbury Police Chief Jason Posel said in a statement Wednesday that his department is “disturbed by the preliminary information of what occurred” and will investigate this incident to the fullest extent, while showing compassion to the students impacted.”

Department of Education spokesperson Anna Kurth said in an email that the state agency has been in contact with the district to offer resources to students, families and staff, but that under privacy laws it can't confirm or deny the receipt of any report or investigation of alleged maltreatment of minors.

The South Washington County Schools district says it serves about 18,700 students at 25 schools in seven communities. It says 37% of its students identify as a race other than white.

FILE - Antonio Jenkins paints a mural of George Floyd at the site where he was murdered by a police officer in 2020 at George Floyd Square in Minneapolis, May 25, 2024. (Alex Kormann/Star Tribune via AP, File)