North Korean media reports South Korean President Yoon’s impeachment

SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korean state media KCNA on Monday reported on the South Korean parliament passing President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment vote on Saturday.

Yoon was impeached in a second vote by South Korea’s opposition-led parliament over his short-lived attempt to impose martial law, which shocked the nation.

KCNA had reported for the first time on Dec. 11 South Korea’s martial law crisis which was sparked on Dec. 3.

On Monday, KCNA did not offer much commentary, but called Yoon’s defiant televised remarks on Dec. 12 “a press statement spliced with lies and obstinacy” and noted the rally in front of South Korean parliament that called for Yoon’s impeachment.

It also noted media reports on various South Korean military and police officials’ suspension from duties and ongoing investigation into Yoon.

After the impeachment vote passed on Saturday, South Korea’s acting defence minister, Kim Seon-ho, called on the military to maintain preparedness and ordered commanding officers to work promptly to stabilise their troop commands.

On Saturday, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia has begun using North Korean troops in significant numbers for the first time to conduct assaults on Ukrainian forces battling to hold an enclave in Russia’s Kursk region.