Pyongyang uses every opportunity to mock possible difficulties in South Korea and to emphasize that the North has a better state system. Why, after the failure of martial law in Seoul, has it remained stubbornly silent?
In the week after South Korean President Yun Suk-yeol declared martial law, which he later lifted, Pyongyang has remained surprisingly silent. Usually, any hint of a problem in Seoul is used by the North Korean media as evidence of the corruption and incompetence of South Korea and its leaders.
This time, however, the North missed the opportunity to mock its ideological enemy and emphasize that North Korean socialism is the better state system. Instead, Pyongyang's state news agency focused on topics such as the opening of a spice factory and the swearing-in of a youth group.
Analysts admit they were surprised by North Korea's lack of action on the propaganda front, especially given that Yun is very hardline against Pyongyang and has accused his political opponents of being "North Korean communists."
Why didn't the North do anything?
One theory is that the regime in Pyongyang decided not to show North Koreans the scenes of protests in South Korea so as not to motivate them to resort to similar actions. The other is that North Korea was worried that South Korean authorities might provoke an escalation with Pyongyang in an attempt to distract citizens from other problems. A third theory is related to Pyongyang's decision to declare South Korea a "warring state," meaning that relations between the two countries are now like those between enemy countries.
This step marks a major change in policy, according to which the two countries were previously considered parts of a single whole that should one day be reunited. It is possible that from this perspective, North Korea did not consider it necessary to comment on the political crisis in Seoul, believes Andrey Lankov, a professor of history and international relations at Seoul's Kookmin University. "Almost every weekend since Yun became president, there have been large demonstrations in Seoul against his government," the expert says. "And every time, the North Korean media reports on them. This has not happened now, and I think the reason is that Pyongyang wanted to see what would happen.
South Korea is a “country like all the others”
“Also, the amount of information that the North Korean media reports about South Korea is gradually decreasing, because they clearly don't want to focus on Seoul. Instead, they have adopted the strategy that it is a country like all the others”, explains Lankov.
Gu Gap Woo, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, agrees that Pyongyang is actively seeking a way to distance itself from contacts with its neighbor. “The North is usually very quick to mention the “puppet South Korean regime” when there is civil disobedience. I was surprised that they didn't say anything about the demonstrations this time,” he explains. “I think this is evidence that they don’t want to have anything to do with South Korea anymore. They don’t want to be involved in any conflict on the Korean Peninsula,” the expert said.
According to Gu, it is unlikely that Kim Jong-un ignored the unrest in South Korea for fear that it would provoke his own citizens. “I don’t think the regime is considering the effect of reporting these events. It is more likely that Pyongyang has focused on distancing itself from Seoul.”
North Korea Finally Speaks
Ultimately, North Korea decided it could no longer keep quiet. On Wednesday, the state news agency reported on the events in South Korea as follows: “The shocking actions of the puppet regime of Yun Suk-yeol, who suddenly declared martial law and without hesitation brandished the weapons of his fascist regime, have caused chaos throughout South Korea.”
The statement portrayed the South Korean military as a “gangster organization.” North Korean media called Yun’s actions a “disaster” and called on the South Korean people to immediately remove him from office and punish him.