▲ Chongryon's head office in Tokyo (Yonhap)

N Korea-Japan

Pro-Pyongyang Korean group in Japan drops reunification goal at 1st congress in 4 years

SEOUL, May 26 (Yonhap) -- Chongryong, the largest organization of pro-Pyongyang ethnic Koreans in Japan, has stripped all references to unification on the Korean Peninsula from its rules, signaling an ideological shift in line with North Korea's hardened stance toward Seoul.

The organization held its 26th general congress in Tokyo over the weekend, its first in four years, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, on Tuesday.

Unification language was notably absent from the meeting, marking a sharp contrast to the previous session four years ago, where "independent unification movement" featured prominently as a key objective.

References to cooperation with the pro-Seoul Mindan organization were also removed. Instead, Chongryong vowed to protect members' rights, nurture younger generations and uphold the ethnic identity, according to the reports.

The shift mirrors North Korea's increasingly adversarial view of the South, which it now treats as a separate, hostile state, rather than a partner for reconciliation.

Seoul's unification ministry confirmed Monday that Chongryon had revised its rules accordingly, consistent with North Korea's March constitutional revision, which redefined its southern border as South Korean territory and stripped out all unification references.

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