unification

"If anyone dares to interfere with China's unification cause in any form, China will surely strike back hard," a statement added.

Sibylline posits that, faced with mounting economic and political pressure internally, China may feel compelled to force unification with Taiwan in 2027.

North Korea appears "to be paying attention to the United States and various signs... suggest a considerable possibility of a meeting," unification minister Chung Dong-young told reporters.

"From late October to early November, there will be no unification ministry-operated special field trips to Panmunjom," Seoul's unification ministry, which handles fraught relations with the North, said in a statement sent to AFP.

The secretary of state must hold a border poll if it appears likely that a majority of people in Northern Ireland would vote for Irish unification.