An influential pro-North Korean outlet on Friday praised South Korean director Bong Joon-ho's Oscar-winning film "Parasite," describing it as a "masterpiece" that "acutely revealed the reality" of South Korean life and society.

The Korean-language article, carried by the Choson Sinbo — the official newspaper of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) — described the film as akin to a "whistle-blower revealing the gap between the rich and the poor, and class contradictions."