The greatest enemy": dynamics of USA image construction in North Korean media discourse and its structural symmetry with the american media image of the DPRK

Aim. This article examines the mechanisms by which the image of the United States is constructed in North Korean media discourse and its structural symmetry with the American media image of the DPRK.

Methodology. Based on content analysis and critical discourse analysis of 1,240 publications of the Nodon Sinmun newspaper for 2017–2024, as well as a systematic sample of materials from The New York Times, The Washington Post and CNN for the same period, the dynamics and mechanisms of designing the image of the United States were revealed and the degree of structural symmetry of this construct with the American media image of the DPRK.

Results. A fundamentally important pattern is identified: while the strategic narrative of the United States as the "main imperialist enemy" remains constant, tactical rhetoric undergoes regular modulation depending on the phase of the diplomatic cycle. Concurrently, it is shown that American media discourse about the DPRK reproduces a structurally symmetrical binary opposition of "friend or foe," shifting only the semantic poles.

Research implications. The discovered mechanism of “mirror construction” is interpreted as a structural element of a protracted geopolitical conflict, in which the image of the enemy performs identification, legitimation, mobilization and signaling functions for both participants.

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