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N Korea at crossroads

North Korea's rejection of unification emboldened by Russia ties

Kim Jong Un touts military advances while discarding long-held diplomatic card

Russian President Vladimir Putin, center left, met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center right, in the Russian Far East in September. (Korean Central News Agency)

SEOUL -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's declaration that he is abandoning unification with South Korea, after more than 50 years of alternating progress and stagnation, hints at greater confidence in Pyongyang's military capabilities -- with apparent aid from Russia.

South Korean media recently took note of a change in the North: Weather forecasts on Pyongyang's state-run Korean Central Television switched from a map that highlighted the entire Korean Peninsula to one that only marked the northern half.

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