>Who are the occupiers of North Korea if there are no North Koreans? South Korean criminals I'd assume? It'd be like if some American militia suddenly seized s

>Who are the occupiers of North Korea if there are no North Koreans? South Korean criminals I'd assume? It'd be like if some American militia suddenly seized some area of land and declared themselves a new independent country and began oppressing everyone already living there. The US wouldn't recognize that (and would move to stop them), but while of course the civilians there wouldn't lose citizenship, the militia wouldn't legally lose citizenship either. They'd just be criminals. Citizenship is a fairly big deal and it's not trivial to renounce it. In the US at least IIRC you literally cannot renounce citizenship domestically at all outside very rare exceptions, you must be abroad and do so at a consulate or embassy, and it's something considered not automatic and instant. Additionally one can be charged an exit tax depending on net worth and tax status. SK of course will have its own rules, but I'm just saying as a matter of law "everyone in that area of our country is citizens of our country being illegally coerced/controlled by other citizens of country, who are criminals" wouldn't be that strange. Although often countries facing such a de facto split work something out legally, there's no inherent reason countries can't refuse to legally recognize things indefinitely.