North Korea on Thursday responded for the first time to the ongoing Choi Sun-sil scandal in South Korea, saying that it symbolizes the “de-facto collapse of the current (South Korean) government.”

The unusually rapid response time demonstrates the North’s level of interest in the scandal, experts have said, one noting that it may affect the deployment of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system.

“The current government faces de-facto collapse,” Rodong Sinmun, the North’s most read national newspaper said. “…Park Geun-hye and her party face the worst political crisis ever.”

The article reported that politicians, governors, and various South Korean newspapers were “enraged”