North Korea reports on South Korea's emergency martial law incident

[Anchor]

North Korea, which had shown no reaction to South Korea's emergency martial law incident, reported on it for the first time today (12.11) and resumed its criticism of the South.

They provided detailed coverage from the declaration of martial law to the impeachment vote, but did not report on the citizens blocking the martial law troops.

This is reporter Choi Kwang-ho.

[Report]

This is the official newspaper of Workers' Party, Rodong Sinmun, which is read by North Korean residents.

It included an article stating that social unrest is expanding due to the emergency martial law in 'the puppet regime of South Korea,' along with over 20 photos.

This is the first report released about a week after the declaration of martial law.

North Korean media criticized President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is facing a governance crisis and impeachment crisis, for declaring martial law in an unjust manner, turning South Korea into a 'hell on earth.'

They detailed the process from the declaration of martial law to the passage of the demand for its lifting, and the subsequent proposal of the impeachment motion against President Yoon, which was later invalidated, highlighting the fact that military forces entered the National Assembly.

[North Korea's Korean Central TV/Today: "They deployed fully armed martial law troops, including several helicopters and a gang of the Army Special Warfare Command, to block the National Assembly."]

They also claimed, "The international community has assessed that emergency martial law incident and impeachment turmoil in puppet South Korea have revealed the vulnerabilities of South Korean society."

This is interpreted as an intention to highlight the political stability of Kim Jong-un's regime and the superiority of the socialist system by emphasizing the chaotic situation in the South.

They also published photos from large-scale rallies calling for the president's impeachment, but did not report on the scene where citizens and aides blocked the martial law troops from entering the National Assembly.

[Hong Min/Senior Research Fellow, Korea Institute for National Unification: "(North Korea) has a political culture where the public power is perfectly enforced, so it is highly likely that they felt considerable pressure to publicly show any instances of 'citizen resistance' against it."]

As there are claims that they attempted to provoke localized conflicts related to martial law, North Korea is expected to closely monitor the situation in South Korea for the time being.

This is KBS News, Choi Kwang-ho.