Two days after South Korea’s presidential election, North Korea reported the results via its state-run media, which is accessible to the public.
On the 6th page of its June 5 edition, the Rodong Sinmun, North Korea’s state-run newspaper, briefly covered the election under the headline, “Presidential Election Held in South Korea.”
The article stated, “Following the impeachment of the president after the December 3 martial law incident last year, South Korea held a presidential election on June 3, just two months later. In the election, Lee Jae Myung, the candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, was elected as the 21st president.”
This is the first time North Korea has reported the outcome of South Korea’s recent presidential election to its citizens. Throughout the campaign period, the North had shown little interest in South Korea, refraining from any coverage under its recent policy of treating the South as a “hostile foreign state.”
Traditionally, North Korea has criticized South Korean politics through propaganda during election seasons but has typically released a brief, factual report on the outcome within one to three days after the vote, without additional commentary.