@article{ART003330146},
author={LIM, SU JIN},
title={North Korea’s Self-Representation Strategy through the “Two Hostile States” Narrative: The Transformation and Effects of the “Nation” and “Peace and Coexistence” Discourses},
journal={Asia Review},
issn={2234-0386},
year={2026},
volume={16},
number={1},
pages={105-132}
TY - JOUR
AU - LIM, SU JIN
TI - North Korea’s Self-Representation Strategy through the “Two Hostile States” Narrative: The Transformation and Effects of the “Nation” and “Peace and Coexistence” Discourses
JO - Asia Review
PY - 2026
VL - 16
IS - 1
PB - 아시아연구소
SP - 105
EP - 132
SN - 2234-0386
AB - This paper analyzes how North Korea is redefining and representing itself and inter-Korean relations through the narrative of “hostile coexistence” between the South and North, following the formalization of the “Two Hostile States” narrative in 2023. In particular, this paper conceptualizes the “Two Hostile States” narrative as a collective self-representation strategy of the Kim Jong-un regime and examines how key concepts such as nation, state, peace, and coexistence are being reconfigured in this process. To this end, this study examined North Korea's official discourses, utilizing discussions on the politics of self-representation in authoritarian regimes as a theoretical background.
The analysis revealed three key characteristics of the Kim Jong-un regime’s self-representation strategy. First, the shift in the discursive axis mediated by “Our State-First Principle” weakened the existing framework that had posited the two Koreas as a single national community, while simultaneously functioning to represent “Socialist Korea” as a self-contained strategic state. Second, peace and coexistence have been recoded from a language of mutual recognition and cooperation into political rhetoric that justifies regime survival, the right to self-defense, and the ability to manage tensions, thereby shrinking the future-oriented discursive space in which long-term inter-Korean cooperation and an institutionalized peace regime could be imagined. Third, the self-representation strategy emphasizing the organic unity of “state–leader–people” functioned as a strategy to maintain internal cohesion and legitimacy by adjusting the logic of the “leader’s” governing legitimacy and the “people’s” participation through the comprehensive symbol of the “state” according to the situation. This study points out that while such self-representation strategies may contribute to regime stability in the short term, in the long term these strategies weaken the symbolic and discursive resources that have historically connected inter-Korean relations, thereby constraining the very conceptual conditions necessary for future discussions on peace and coexistence on the Korean Peninsula.
KW - “Two Hostile States” Narrative;Self-Representation;Our State-First Principle;Nation;Peace;Coexistence
DO -
UR -
ER -
LIM, SU JIN. (2026). North Korea’s Self-Representation Strategy through the “Two Hostile States” Narrative: The Transformation and Effects of the “Nation” and “Peace and Coexistence” Discourses. Asia Review, 16(1), 105-132.
LIM, SU JIN. 2026, "North Korea’s Self-Representation Strategy through the “Two Hostile States” Narrative: The Transformation and Effects of the “Nation” and “Peace and Coexistence” Discourses", Asia Review, vol.16, no.1 pp.105-132.
LIM, SU JIN "North Korea’s Self-Representation Strategy through the “Two Hostile States” Narrative: The Transformation and Effects of the “Nation” and “Peace and Coexistence” Discourses" Asia Review 16.1 pp.105-132 (2026) : 105.
LIM, SU JIN. North Korea’s Self-Representation Strategy through the “Two Hostile States” Narrative: The Transformation and Effects of the “Nation” and “Peace and Coexistence” Discourses. 2026; 16(1), 105-132.
LIM, SU JIN. "North Korea’s Self-Representation Strategy through the “Two Hostile States” Narrative: The Transformation and Effects of the “Nation” and “Peace and Coexistence” Discourses" Asia Review 16, no.1 (2026) : 105-132.
LIM, SU JIN. North Korea’s Self-Representation Strategy through the “Two Hostile States” Narrative: The Transformation and Effects of the “Nation” and “Peace and Coexistence” Discourses. Asia Review, 16(1), 105-132.
LIM, SU JIN. North Korea’s Self-Representation Strategy through the “Two Hostile States” Narrative: The Transformation and Effects of the “Nation” and “Peace and Coexistence” Discourses. Asia Review. 2026; 16(1) 105-132.
LIM, SU JIN. North Korea’s Self-Representation Strategy through the “Two Hostile States” Narrative: The Transformation and Effects of the “Nation” and “Peace and Coexistence” Discourses. 2026; 16(1), 105-132.
LIM, SU JIN. "North Korea’s Self-Representation Strategy through the “Two Hostile States” Narrative: The Transformation and Effects of the “Nation” and “Peace and Coexistence” Discourses" Asia Review 16, no.1 (2026) : 105-132.
