The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) put out a four-sentence report yesterday on the victory of Moon, who calls for dialogue, along with sanctions and pressure, to curb the North's nuclear ambitions.
"Mun Jae-In... Was elected to be the 19th-term 'president' with 41 percent voting rate," it said, using the McCune-Reischauer transliteration system that is standard in North Korea.
That contrasted with its one-sentence report of the election of Moon's conservative predecessor Park Geun-Hye in 2012, which did not mention her name or her support.
Moon was part of the South's last liberal government, which pursued a "Sunshine policy" of reconciliation and dialogue with the North, and is widely expected to shift away Park's hardline approach.
Park's term ended early when she was impeached for corruption and abuse of power, and KCNA said: "The election took place before the expiry of the previous regime as traitor Park Geun Hye was dismissed from office under the unanimous demand of the south Koreans for committing the unprecedented crimes in the history of politics of south Korea.