N. Korea reports S. Korean unrest to bolster internal solidarity: Seoul

North Korea's continued media coverage of South Korea's political turmoil likely reflects a calculated effort to bolster domestic support of the Kim Jong-un regime by exposing its citizens to such reports, the Unification Ministry in Seoul said Thursday.

North Korean state media, catering to domestic audiences, resumed detailed coverage on Wednesday of the political upheaval sparked by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s abrupt and short-lived martial law decree on Dec. 3. This followed a week-long hiatus, starting Dec. 5, from reporting on South Korean politics, including anti-Yoon protests.

"North Korea appears to believe that its media reports contribute to reinforcing the regime's solidarity by dispelling residents' expectations of South Korean society," a senior Unification Ministry said on condition of anonymity during Thursday's closed-door briefing.

The Rodong Sinmun, the most widely circulated newspaper in North Korea, reported Thursday on its sixth page that "voices demanding the impeachment of puppet Yoon Suk Yeol are growing louder by the day, and political turmoil is intensifying as the truth behind the martial law situation gradually unfolds in puppet (South) Korea."

The Rodong Sinmun reported detailed candlelight vigils calling for Yoon's impeachment and denouncing his martial law declaration, noting that "protests condemning the People Power Party are also continuing" after the Dec. 7 impeachment vote against Yoon was derailed due to a lack of quorum.

The newspaper also read, "Yoon Suk Yeol, identified as the main perpetrator of the current insurrection charges, has been booked as a suspect and banned from leaving the country."

Notably, Thursday's edition of Rodong Sinmun included no photos while reporting on South Korea's domestic unrest and anti-Yoon protests.

Earlier, North Korea had featured 21 images of South Korean protests in Rodong Sinmun, but the selection was deliberate and cautious. With the exception of one image, the photos avoided high-rise buildings -- symbols of South Korea's economic development -- focusing almost exclusively on the protesters.

It is also noteworthy that North Korean media has avoided articulating the country’s stance on the political turmoil in South Korea, instead focusing on citing reports from domestic and foreign media outlets.

For instance, Thursday's edition of the Rodong Sinmun read, "Foreign media have reported that 'the fallout from the martial law has intensified, and South Korea's political dysfunction is deepening' assessing that Yoon Suk Yeol, who has been banned from leaving the country due to the 'Dec. 3 martial law incident,' has become a 'vegetative president.'"

When asked about the reasons behind North Korean media reports' reliance on citations, the unnamed Unification Ministry official suggested, "This could be influenced, to some extent, by the two-state declaration." The North Korean leader first framed the two Koreas as separate, hostile states during the year-end plenary in December 2023, a stance he has since repeatedly reinforced.

The Rodong Sinmun on Wednesday, in its first report addressing the political crisis sparked by Yoon's martial law declaration, stated that the move had thrown South Korea into "chaos and turmoil." On the same day, Korean Central Television, the only TV channel that is accessible across North Korea, broadcast the news.

Meanwhile, Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said, "wouldn't want any actor to take advantage of that," when asked about the potential of North Korea misjudging South Korea's political turmoil during a press briefing on Wednesday.