Coverage of South Korea in North Korea’s leading newspaper peaked in the first half of 2025 in response to military exercises and political turmoil, only to collapse by the end of the year, according to NK Pro analysis of state media.

The party daily Rodong Sinmun did not mention the South once in the last two months of the year, the data shows, while phasing out the derogatory term “puppet” from domestic-facing propaganda rhetoric.

When the newspaper did refer to the ROK, it generally mentioned the country alongside the U.S. and Japan, the latter