Martial law declaration sparks international backlash for South Korea By Reuters
Written by Josh Smith
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who vowed to make his country “a country of global importance”, faced international backlash on Wednesday after his misguided attempts to impose martial law.
Yoon declared martial law in a live TV address on Tuesday night, but backtracked six hours later after parliament defied the police and special forces to vote to block the move.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who was supposed to hold a meeting with Yoon this week, will skip the planned visit, his spokesman said on Wednesday.
“Due to recent incidents, we have decided to postpone the visit,” the statement said in a statement.
The United States, South Korea’s main ally, has indefinitely postponed meetings of the Nuclear Consultative Group and related military tabletop exercises, a US official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The NCG is a signature of Yoon’s effort to get South Korea to play a more active role in joint plans for a possible nuclear war on the peninsula.
About 28,500 US troops are in South Korea and it was not clear whether other joint military exercises would be affected. A spokesman for US Forces-Korea did not respond to a request for comment.
The US and South Korean forces are “connected”, the Pentagon said on Tuesday, adding that there was no request for help from Seoul during the events.
Pentagon spokesman Major General Patrick Ryder told a news conference that he doesn’t believe the martial law declaration has had much of an impact so far on US forces, some of which are operating jointly with South Korea’s military.
A White House spokesman previously said the US was not informed before Yoon’s announcement and added: “We are very concerned about the developments we are seeing on the ground.”
The declaration of martial law cast doubt on a possible visit next week by the US defense secretary. Japanese media reported that he was to meet with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts as part of a tripartite effort promoted by Yoon.
A group of Japanese lawmakers on Korean affairs led by former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has canceled a planned visit to Seoul in mid-December, multiple Japanese outlets reported.
“We are monitoring (the situation in South Korea) with great interest,” Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told reporters.
Duyeon Kim of the Center for a New American Security said “Yoon’s global reputation as a beacon and symbol of democracy has now been shot”.
“The fate of Yoon’s foreign policies remains uncertain and murky,” he added.
