Pyongyang is keeping strangely silent on South Korea’s turmoil

North Korea has long been infamous for its hyperbolic rhetoric. While there are some subjects – such as the locations of its nuclear facilities – that it has so far managed to keep quiet on, the ongoing calls to oust South Korean President, Yoon Suk Yeol, following his botched attempt to impose martial law last week has proved too irresistible for Pyongyang to hold back on for long. After all, in North Korea’s eyes, any attempt to delegitimise South Korea is one worth taking.

North Korea’s week-long silence following Yoon’s bizarre invocation and revocation of martial law in the South last week was unusual. Pyongyang did not even conduct any missile launches. With President Yoon’s incredible act of self sabotage that caused disbelief even amongst his loyal supporters, the ensuing tumult in Seoul presented a convenient opportunity for Pyongyang to leverage the situation.

Indeed, only earlier this year, North Korean media reported on the comparably smaller-scale anti-government protests and so-called candlelight rallies in the South, agreeing with the sentiment of protesters who demanded Yoon’s impeachment.