North Korea state media slams South’s Yoon as ‘ringleader of rebellion’

Protesters calling for the ouster of South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol react after the result of the second martial law impeachment vote outside the National Assembly in Seoul on December 14, 2024. – South Korean lawmakers on December 14 voted to remove President Yoon Suk Yeol from office for his failed attempt to impose martial law last week. Meanwhile, North Korean state media on Monday issued its first report on South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment, dubbing him a “ringleader of rebellion” for having launched a bid to impose martial law. (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE / Agence France-Presse)

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean state media on Monday issued its first report on South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment, dubbing him a “ringleader of rebellion” for having launched a bid to impose martial law.

Nearly two days after the impeachment vote, the dispatch from the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) did not provide any quotes from North Korean officials, who have been relatively tight-lipped over the South’s political turmoil.

Less than a dozen sentences long, the KCNA report gave a brief outline of the events surrounding Yoon’s impeachment, claiming he had attempted to shift responsibility for the “foolish emergency martial law declaration” onto opposition parties.

“The investigation into puppet Yoon Suk Yeol, the ringleader of rebellion, and his accomplices is under way,” KCNA said.

“The puppet Constitutional Court will finally decide” on whether to remove Yoon, it added.

READ: North Korea state media says South ‘in chaos’ after martial law

This handout photo taken on December 14, 2024, and released by the South Korean Presidential Office shows President Yoon Suk Yeol giving a public address from his official residence in Seoul. – Yoon, on December 14, 2024, said he would “step aside” after parliament voted to remove him from office, urging an end to “politics of excess and confrontation”. South Korean lawmakers on Saturday impeached Yoon over his failed martial law bid, with the opposition declaring a “victory of the people.” (Photo by Handout / South Korean Presidential Office / Agence France-Presse)

READ: Who is the South Korean leader who tried to impose martial law?

North Korean state media often refers to the South’s leaders and institutions as being a “puppet” of its treaty ally, the United States.

KCNA did not comment on the December 3 martial law declaration until about a week later, describing the South as being “in chaos” over the order.

Relations between the two Koreas have been at one of their lowest points in years, with the North launching a flurry of ballistic missiles in violation of UN sanctions.

It also has been bombarding the South with trash-carrying balloons since May, in what it says is retaliation for anti-Pyongyang propaganda missives sent North by activists.

North Korea has become one of the most vocal and important backers of Russia’s offensive in Ukraine, with Washington and Seoul accusing it of sending more than 10,000 soldiers to help Moscow.