North Korea Changes National Flag for First Time Since 1948, Enshrines New Proportions in Constitution

In brief

• North Korea has changed its national flag's height-to-width ratio from 1:2 to 1:1.65 and written the change into its constitution.
• It is the first change to the flag since the state was founded in 1948; the design itself remains the same.
• Analysts link the move to Kim Jong Un's effort to shape his own image and distance himself from his grandfather Kim Il Sung's legacy.

Proportions revised in the constitution

North Korea has changed the ratio of its national flag's height to width and recorded the change in the revised constitution. According to South Korea's Yonhap news agency, the ratio is now 1:1.65, up from 1:2 (Ким Чен Ын отходит от традиций деда-диктатора. В Северной Корее впервые с 1948 года изменили флаг страны – NV) (Кім Чен Ин змінив державний прапор Північної Кореї – UNIAN). The amendment appears in Article 166 of the constitution, which was published on the state's propaganda website Naenara (Северная Корея изменила флаг впервые за 78 лет – Charter 97).

Design largely unchanged

The flag keeps its familiar layout: a broad red band across the center, bordered by narrow white stripes and then blue stripes, with a red five-pointed star inside a white circle near the hoist side. The only visible difference is the stretched shape, which is now shorter and more square.

Official symbolism

The constitution assigns meanings to each color. Red honors fighters who died for Korea's freedom and independence during the Japanese colonial period from 1910 to 1945. White and the circle represent the people's loyalty to the leader and the leadership of the Workers' Party of Korea. Blue stands for revolutionary spirit, the struggle for peace and friendship among peoples, and state sovereignty.

Political context

The Wall Street Journal links the change to a broader effort by leader Kim Jong Un to build his own political image and distance himself from the legacy of his grandfather, Kim Il Sung, who founded the state. The original flag design was drafted in the Soviet Union and handed to Kim Il Sung, according to the same report.