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.

Smoke rises after North Korea blows up sections of inter-Korean roads on its side of the border between the two Koreas, according to South Korea's military, as seen from the South Korean side, October 15, 2024, in this screen grab from a handout video. South Korean Defence Ministry/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

North Korean state media said on Wednesday around 1.4 million young people had applied to join or return to the army this week, blaming Seoul for a provocative drone incursion that had brought the "tense situation to the brink of war".