Eight days after South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law, North Korea’s state-controlled Korean Central News Agency called the December 3 declaration “an insane act” that created chaos in South Korea.
Rodong Sinmun, the North’s main newspaper, also published a story on the incident on December 11, likening Yoon’s declaration to a “fascist dictatorship” – an ironic commentary from one of the most isolated countries in the world, ruled by the brutal Kim regime.
Martial law lasted just six hours before a vote by the National Assembly forced Yoon to revoke the declaration.
Before Yoon declared martial law, North Korean state media frequently commented on protests demanding Yoon’s impeachment in Seoul, the capital of South Korea. For the past eight days, excluding its short news report on the declaration, however, the North’s state media has not published any stories concerned with the declaration.
North Korea might not want to get involved in the event as Yoon brought up “anti-state” and “pro-North Korean” forces as the main reason for his declaration of martial law in his televised announcement on December 3. However, it has been clearly demonstrated that he enacted martial law due to the main opposition Democratic Party’s impediments to his policies and statesmanship at the National Assembly. This was confirmed by Han Dong-hoon, the leader of the ruling People Power Party, who met Yoon after he lifted martial law.
As the South Korean and the U.S. militaries have confirmed that there is no alarming movement in North Korea, Pyongyang seems to have decided not to give Yoon any motivation to declare martial law again or justify his declaration.
Pyongyang’s attitude toward Yoon has been repeatedly demonstrated by its belligerent and insulting statements since he assumed the presidency in May 2022. Yoon’s attempt to suppress freedom and democracy through the illegitimate declaration of martial law has caused a crack in the South Korea-U.S. alliance, as he apparently did not inform the United States of his plan in advance. North Korea’s silence on the political crisis caused by the declaration thus seems to be a strategic decision and will likely last for a while.
Meanwhile, North Korea could have started a policy review on the United States and South Korea.
On January 20, 2025, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will return to the White House. During his presidential campaign, he showed his interest to sit down with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un again to entice him to give up his nuclear weapons. Although Pyongyang has clearly said that its nuclear weapons are no longer negotiable, Kim may consider renewing the stalled North Korea-U.S. nuclear talks, as Trump is the only U.S. president who may be willing to lift economic sanctions against North Korea. Trump was the first – and so far only – sitting U.S. president to negotiate directly with the North Korean leader.
In South Korea, Yoon’s time in office looks extremely limited, with another impeachment vote scheduled for December 14. If Yoon resigns or is impeached, Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, will likely win the special presidential election which could be scheduled next year. With that in mind, North Korea might have begun its policy review on how to deal with the new administration of South Korea. Moon Jae-in, the last president from the DP, was keen on talks with North Korea and relied less on military signaling compared to Yoon.
As of December 11, five PPP lawmakers have expressed their intention to vote for impeaching Yoon on December 14. According to Kim Sang-wook, one of the five PPP lawmakers announcing his support for impeachment, there are around ten PPP lawmakers who are willing to vote for the bill on December 14.
Because impeachment requires support from a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly, at least eight PPP lawmakers must vote for impeachment for the bill to pass. In the first attempt to suspend Yoon’s presidential power and authority on December 7, the PPP neutralized the voting by preventing a quorum.
Most of the PPP legislators who now say they would vote for Yoon’s impeachment added that they wanted to give time for the president to voluntarily step down – something PPP leader Han Dong-hoon promised was forthcoming, albeit without a firm timeline. However, as Yoon has thus far refused to step down, more PPP lawmakers appear to have decided to impeach the president, who is being investigated on charges of treason and insurrection.
In light of North Korea’s obvious dislike for Yoon and the scenarios that will likely unfold next year, North Korea seems to have decided to keep silent on the political chaos in South Korea as a strategic move. Monitoring the events in South Korea, Pyongyang will continue to strengthen military cooperation with Russia while seeking to directly negotiate with the second Trump administration.