Even Pyongyang Chimes in on the Election

From the AP:

North Korean television Friday carried a report on the U.S. midterm election, saying the Republican Party suffered a ''crushing defeat'' and claiming that President Bush fired his defense secretary in its wake. The unusually quick response, carried on the North's Korean Central Television Station, reflects the high interest that Pyongyang is believed to have in the Tuesday election. The tightly controlled media of totalitarian North Korea rarely report on foreign news. When they do, such reports come days or weeks after news breaks. ''The Democratic Party ... has come to seize control of Parliament,'' an anchorwoman of the North's television said, according to footage shown on South Korea's new cable channel YTN. ''This midterm election ended in a crushing defeat by the Republican Party.'' The election outcome could affect Washington's foreign policy, including its approach toward North Korea. Democrats have called for bilateral dialogue with Pyongyang to end the country's nuclear programs.