SEOUL, Dec 11, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - South Korea is in "chaos" after President Yoon Suk Yeol's brief imposition of martial law, North Korean state media said Wednesday in its first comments on the situation.

"The shocking incident of the puppet Yoon Suk Yeol, who is facing impeachment and a governance crisis, suddenly declaring a martial law decree and unhesitatingly wielding the guns and knives of its fascist dictatorship wrought chaos across South Korea," state media said in a commentary.

"The international community is sternly watching, with assessments that the martial law incident exposed vulnerabilities in South Korean society," it added.

"Commentators described Yoon's abrupt declaration of martial law as a desperate move and that Yoon Suk Yeol's political life could face an early end."

Yoon suspended civilian rule last Tuesday and sent special forces and helicopters to parliament, before lawmakers forced him to rescind the decree in a country assumed to be a stable democracy.

He survived an impeachment motion in parliament on Saturday even as tens of thousands braved freezing temperatures outside to demand his ouster. The opposition plans to introduce a second impeachment motion on Saturday.