North Korea breaks silence on ‘insane’ martial law effort in South Korea

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean state media reported for the first time Wednesday on the political instability in South Korea, focusing on mass protests calling for the ouster of President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed attempt to impose martial law.

North Korea, a nuclear-armed communist state that technically remains at war with the South, had said nothing for a week after the deeply unpopular Yoon, 63, plunged the East Asian democracy and key U.S. ally into chaos with his short-lived martial law declaration.

Yoon had justified the martial law order in part by accusing opposition lawmakers without evidence of being North Korean sympathizers.

An article published by state news agency KCNA described “social unrest” in South Korea, where Yoon’s People Power Party says he has been effectively suspended from duty, raising questions about who is running the world’s 10th-largest economy.  

The article, which relied heavily on reports from South Korean and international news media, highlighted the domestic opposition Yoon is facing in a country with a long history of military-authoritarian rule.

“The shocking incident of the puppet Yoon Suk Yeol regime, which was faced with a serious governance crisis and an impeachment crisis, suddenly declared a martial law decree and unhesitatingly wielded the guns and knives of its fascist dictatorship,” KCNA said.

“Yoon Suk Yeol, who was faced with the possibility of being kicked out, committed an insane act that was reminiscent of the coup during the military dictatorship several decades ago and that drew strong condemnation from all walks of life, including the opposition party and further ignited the public anger demanding impeachment.”

“The international community is sternly watching, with assessments that the martial law incident exposed vulnerabilities in South Korean society … and that Yoon Suk Yeol’s political life could face an early end,” KCNA said.

The report was in line with how North Korea generally responds to unpopular decisions by South Korean leaders, said Rob York, director for regional affairs at Pacific Forum, a foreign policy research institute in Honolulu.

“North Korean state media is happy to highlight the failings and dictatorial tendencies among South Korean leaders when they emerge, as well as mass opposition to them,” he said. 

North Korea has been accelerating weapons testing and ratcheting up its rhetoric against South Korea, the United States and others. But it is unlikely to take advantage of the political situation in South Korea to make any military moves, York said.

“North Korea is probably aware that the [South Korean] armed forces would be on guard for any kind of provocation,” he said.

Even more than the strength of the South Korean military — which is bolstered by the presence of nearly 30,000 American troops — North Korea would be deterred by the fact that some of its most elite forces have been deployed to fight with Russia against Ukraine, York said.

It is also likely to be focused on the ongoing turmoil in Syria, where North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had a close relationship with ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad.

A motion to impeach Yoon failed on Saturday when lawmakers from his party boycotted the vote. A second impeachment vote is set to be held this Saturday at 5 p.m. local time (3 a.m. ET), though it is unclear whether that will pass either.

Stella Kim reported from Seoul and Jennifer Jett from Hong Kong.