section_path: Reception and analysis/Coverage in North Korea
section_name: Coverage in North Korea
paragraph_text: Coverage in North Korea
  
  Despite having previously reported negatively on the Yoon administration on a regular basis, the state-controlled North Korean press initially refrained from reporting on the martial law declaration and its aftermath. Some South Korean analysts believed this was to avoid provoking cross-border tensions and encouraging resistance against the North Korean government. On 11 December 2024, North Korean state media released its first statements on the martial law declaration through an article published in the newspaper Rodong Sinmun, describing it as an "insane act" that was "akin to the coup d'état of the decades-ago military dictatorship era". It also described the incident as having "revealed the weakness in South Korean society" and hinted at the end of Yoon's political career. The newspaper also published images of anti-Yoon protests in Seoul. On the same day, North Korea's state TV described the incident as "chaos" and called the South a "fascist dictatorship". On 3 January 2025, North Korean state media said that South Korea was in "political chaos" amid ongoing attempts to arrest Yoon.