(Yoon Impeachment) N. Korea remains silent about Yoon's impeachment

By Chae Yun-hwan

SEOUL, Dec. 15 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's state media on Sunday kept mum about President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment, marking a contrast from its swift reporting of the 2016 impeachment of then President Park Geun-hye.

The National Assembly passed an impeachment motion against Yoon on Saturday over his botched imposition of martial law on Dec. 3, suspending his duties as president.

As of 9 a.m., none of the North's state media, including the Rodong Sinmun, the North's main newspaper, and the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), had published any reports on Yoon's impeachment.

When Park was impeached on Dec. 9, 2016, North Korea's propaganda outlet Uriminzokkiri reported on it just four hours after the National Assembly passed an impeachment motion against Park. The website also carried a KCNA article on her impeachment later that night.

The apparent silence on Yoon's impeachment suggests that North Korea could be distancing itself from the South in line with its declaration of inter-Korean ties as those between two "hostile" states.

North Korean media also remained tight-lipped over Yoon's declaration of martial law earlier this month for about a week before reporting on it on Dec. 11.

yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
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