North Korean state media quickly covered Lee Jae-myung’s presidential election victory, sparking hope among ordinary North Koreans for better relations between the two Koreas.
“Hoeryong residents who heard about South Korea’s new president expect inter-Korean relations will improve,” a source in North Hamgyong Province told Daily NK recently.
The Rodong Sinmun newspaper and other state outlets reported the news on June 5. “A new president was elected in South Korea on June 3, two months after the former president was impeached over the December 3, 2024 martial law incident. Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party won the election,” Rodong Sinmun reported.
The official coverage was brief and factual, offering no commentary. However, in the border city of Hoeryong, North Koreans are reportedly sharing details about Lee’s background and policies through conversations on Chinese mobile phones with people outside the country.
Hoeryong residents are passing along reports that Lee “wants to maintain positive relations with us” and “is willing to talk with us.”
“People here are interested in South Korea’s president because inter-Korean relations directly affect their daily lives,” the source explained, pointing to the ideological crackdowns as one example.
As tensions escalated under former President Yoon Suk-yeol, North Korea’s security forces tightened their control over society. Those with South Korean contacts faced especially harsh surveillance and punishment.
This intensified after Kim Jong Un declared that the two Koreas were now hostile states rather than fellow Koreans.
“People who called someone in South Korea were branded as spies and sent to prison camps. Even young people got sentenced to hard labor for ‘anti-socialist behavior’ like speaking with a South Korean accent or watching K-dramas,” the source said.
Hope for peace and unification still resonate among many N. Koreans
Given these circumstances, electing a South Korean president who wants better relations is welcome news for North Koreans.
“Many people hope the restrictions will ease and give them some breathing room,” the source said.
People in Hyesan, a border city in Ryanggang province, also responded positively to Lee’s victory. “I’m glad Lee Jae-myung became president,” one said. “I hope we Koreans will stop treating each other as enemies,” another commented.
These reactions suggest that despite the regime’s efforts to foster hostility toward South Korea and eliminate ideas of unification and shared Korean identity, these concepts still resonate with many North Koreans.
North Koreans involved in smuggling are particularly excited about the new president, according to the Ryanggang province source.
“Border areas are more politically sensitive than inland regions, especially for people who make their living at the border. Smugglers have been thrilled to learn that South Korea apparently elected a president more likely to get along with the North,” the source said.
After winning the election in the early hours of June 4, Lee said: “I will make the Korean Peninsula a place where we can live together in peace and security. Rather than winning through conflict, it’s better to win without fighting. But I firmly believe that building lasting peace that makes fighting unnecessary is the best approach. Through inter-Korean dialogue and communication, we will seek cooperation, coexistence, and shared prosperity.”
Lee’s approach differs markedly from the previous administration’s hardline stance toward North Korea under the banner of “peace through strength.”
