What do the colors and symbols on North Korea’s national flag represent?

The constitution says the red stripe represents the blood shed by anti-Japan fighters during colonial rule. It describes the white circle and stripes as symbols of loyalty to the leader and ruling Workers’ Party, and the blue stripes as representing peace, friendship, unity and sovereignty.

Why might Kim Jong-un’s government have changed North Korea’s flag ratio?

Observers said the change might reflect Pyongyang’s efforts to craft a new national image under Kim Jong-un, while the article also notes his effort to build his own governing style and national identity while retaining some legacies of his predecessors.

N. Korea changes national flag's aspect ratio for 1st time since 1948

Q: What aspect ratio does North Korea’s revised constitution set for its national flag?

Article 166 sets the flag’s height-to-width ratio at 1 to 1.65, replacing the previous 1 to 2 ratio. The amended basic law was posted on Naenara’s website.

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Summary

North Korea revised its constitution to change the national flag’s height-to-width ratio, a change reflected in the amended basic law posted on Naenara. Article 166 sets the ratio at 1 to 1.65, replacing the previous 1 to 2 ratio. The flag’s design remains unchanged, and observers said the revision might reflect efforts to shape a new national image under Kim Jong-un.

Key Facts

The 1-to-2 ratio had remained unchanged in law until a constitutional revision in September 2023.
The flag has a broad red center stripe, narrow white stripes, blue stripes, and a red five-pointed star inside a white circle.
The constitution says the red stripe represents the blood shed by anti-Japan fighters during Japan’s 1910–45 colonial rule.
The constitution says the white elements symbolize loyalty to the nation’s leader and the Workers’ Party of Korea, while the blue stripes represent peace, friendship, unity and sovereignty.

By Yonhap

Published Nov 13, 2026 10:28 am KST

This image, captured from the website of North Korea's propaganda outlet Naenara, shows the North's revised constitution. Yonhap

North Korea has revised its constitution to change its national flag's aspect ratio for the first time since its regime was established in 1948, according to the amended basic law posted on the website of Pyongyang's propaganda outlet.

Article 166 of the revised constitution posted on Naenara's website stipulates that the ratio of the flag's height to its width is 1 to 1.65, replacing the previous ratio of 1 to 2.

The change came as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sought to build his own governing style and national identity while retaining some legacies of his predecessors.

The flag's 1-to-2 ratio rule had remained unchanged in the law until the North's constitutional revision in September 2023.

Despite the ratio change, the overall design of the North's flag remains intact, consisting of a broad red stripe in the center, narrow white stripes above and below it, blue stripes above and below the white stripes, and a red five-pointed star in a white circle.

The constitution says the red stripe stands for the blood shed by anti-Japan fighters who dedicated their lives to defending the country's freedom and independence during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule. The white circle and two white stripes symbolize people's loyalty to the nation's leader and ruling Workers' Party of Korea.

The two blue stripes represent the revolutionary spirit of the people struggling for peace, friendship and unity in the world, as well as the country's sovereignty, it said.

Observers said the change in the flag's aspect ratio might have reflected Pyongyang's efforts to craft a new national image under the incumbent leader Kim, the third-generation hereditary ruler.

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