Informal Institute for National Security Thinkers and Practitioners

Quotes of the Day:

“An intellectual? Yes. And never deny it. An intellectual is someone whose mind watches itself. I like this, because I am happy to be both halves, the watcher and the watched. “Can they be brought together?” This is a practical question. We must get down to it. “I despise intelligence” really means I cannot bear my doubts.”

– Albert Camus

“Integrity is not old school, it applies today like it never did.”

– Richard Norton

“Everything good is costly, in the development of the personality is one of the most costly of all things. It will cost you your innocence, your illusions, your certainty.”

– Carl Jung.

1. Constitutional Court upholds Yoon's impeachment, removes him from office

2. South Korea’s Impeached President Is Removed From Office Over Martial-Law Decree

3. U.S. Patriot missile batteries in S. Korea to be temporarily deployed to Middle East

4. Analysis: South Korea faces significant challenges after Yoon removed

5. Top South Korean Court Upholds President’s Impeachment

6. U.S. experts forecast rough ride ahead for S. Korea-U.S. alliance amid leadership vacuum in Seoul

7. Ex-President Yoon says sorry for not living up to public expectations after impeachment upheld

8. Senior presidential aides offer to resign following Yoon's ouster

9. Tariffs Can Actually Work—if Only Trump Understood How

10. Business community urges nat'l unity for economic recovery following Yoon's removal

11. On Defense, Trump’s Early Moves in Asia Have Been Notably Normal

12. Curiosity and consequences: Young N. Koreans risk prison for S. Korean TV

13. Empty promises: N. Korea's new factories fail to deliver for ordinary citizens

14. N. Korean students reject state university offers in favor of local education

15. Ruling party says it 'humbly accepts' Constitutional Court's decision to remove Yoon from office

16. Ex-special warfare commander involved in martial law released on bail

17. Over 63 pct of S. Korean students view N. Korea with caution, animosity: poll

18. Seoul pledges $100M to Ukraine, cites North Korea-Russia ties as regional threat

19. ROK acting president warns North may exploit ‘turmoil’ following Yoon’s ouster

20. What Yoon Suk-yeol’s removal means for South Korea’s relationship with the North

21. Burnt allies: Japan, S Korea toe cautious line after Trump tariffs

22. U.S. reaffirms commitment to working with acting President Han, looks forward to future of 'close cooperation': State Dept.

1. Constitutional Court upholds Yoon's impeachment, removes him from office

Sad news. But now Koreans have to look forward to the snap election on June 3d.

It seems that the ruling is based solely on Yoon’s order to send the military to block the action of the National Assembly. Strictly on that point it probably makes legal sense. If he had not given that order it seems like he would not have had the impeachment upheld. Now the PPP has to get a candidate ready to try to defeat Lee Jae Myung. If they can capitalize on all the support that they have generated and field a clean candidate with no legal baggage it could turn out to be positive in the long run if they defeat Lee Jae Myung.

Some speculate the delayed decision was due to coercion by the DPK. Some speculate actual threats against the justices were made but I have seen no evidence of that.

I have already seen speculation on social media that Yoon's supporters will not accept the decision and even Lee Jae Myung fanned the flames of violence before the announcement (it will be to his favor if there are violent protests now).. To all my Korean friends: Please do not violently oppose the decision. Please accept it. Anyone who does not accept the decision and who uses violence against the government will be the ones responsible for breaking ROK democracy. The conservatives should build on the political momentum they have built up against impeachment and channel that to support a "clean" candidate who can defeat Lee Jae Myung. Then you will have 5 years to clean up the political system,

Breaking News: Yoon Suk-yeol is Removed from Office

Published 3 April 2025

1 min read

By TK

On April 4, 2025, at 11:22 a.m., the Constitutional Court 헌법재판소 sustained the impeachment of Yoon Suk-yeol 윤석열, removing him from the office. The court found that Yoon's martial law declaration was a serious infringement of the democratic order, and rejected Yoon's argument that his martial law was only a brief warning for the public.

As a result of the court's ruling, Yoon is no longer the president. Snap election for the next presidency will take place within 60 days, or June 3.

This is a developing story. More update will be provided as additional information becomes available.

Breaking News Blue House

(2nd LD) Constitutional Court upholds Yoon's impeachment, removes him from office

Lee Haye-ah

Politics 11:40 April 04, 2025

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(ATTN: UPDATES with details of ruling; CHANGES photo)

By Lee Haye-ah

SEOUL, April 4 (Yonhap) -- The Constitutional Court unanimously upheld the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday, removing him from office over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December.

The verdict, which was read by acting court chief Moon Hyung-bae and televised live, took effect immediately, requiring the country to hold a snap presidential election to pick Yoon's successor within 60 days, which many expect to fall on June 3.

Yoon was impeached by the opposition-controlled National Assembly in mid-December on charges of violating the Constitution and laws by declaring martial law on Dec. 3, deploying troops to the National Assembly to stop lawmakers from voting down the decree and ordering the arrest of politicians.

"The negative effects on the constitutional order and the repercussions from the defendant's violations of the law are grave, making the benefits of protecting the Constitution by dismissing the defendant larger than the national losses from dismissing the president by an overwhelming degree," Moon said.

The court recognized effectively all of the charges against Yoon, including that he did not meet the legal requirements for declaring martial law and sent troops to the Assembly to stop its reversal of the decree.

The ruling People Power Party said it "humbly accepts" the court's ruling, while the main opposition Democratic Party welcomed it as a "people's victory."

Moon Hyung-bae, acting chief of the Constitutional Court, is seated at the court in Seoul on April 4, 2025, to deliver the court's ruling on whether to dismiss or reinstate impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

The Constitutional Court's eight justices -- (from L to R, rear) Chung Kye-sun, Kim Bok-hyeong, Jung Jung-mi, Lee Mi-son, Moon Hyung-bae, Kim Hyung-du, Cheong Hyung-sik and Cho Han-chang -- are seated at the court in Seoul on April 4, 2025, to deliver the court's ruling on whether to dismiss or reinstate impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

hague@yna.co.kr

(END)

2. South Korea’s Impeached President Is Removed From Office Over Martial-Law Decree

South Korea’s Impeached President Is Removed From Office Over Martial-Law Decree

Yoon Suk Yeol’s ouster triggers a snap vote within 60 days to elect a new leader

https://www.wsj.com/world/asia/south-koreas-impeached-president-is-removed-from-office-over-martial-law-decree-f6e9ecb0?st=rva43k&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

By Timothy W. Martin

, Soobin Kim and Dasl Yoon

| Photographs by Tim Franco for WSJ

Updated April 3, 2025 11:36 pm ET

SEOUL—South Korea’s Constitutional Court ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived declaration of martial law, clearing the way for a snap vote to elect a new president who will contend with deep divisions at home and rising friction with the U.S.

The Constitutional Court’s eight judges voted unanimously in favor of upholding the impeachment of Yoon by the country’s legislature. Yoon, who didn’t attend Friday’s hearing, cannot appeal the ruling.

Following the removal of Yoon, South Korea must now hold an election within 60 days—a vote that promises to be especially contentious as the fallout from Yoon’s declaration continues to roil domestic politics.

The dismissal of the 64-year-old conservative closes a tumultuous chapter in South Korean politics. Yoon shocked the nation when he declared martial law on Dec. 3, arguing the country was at risk of falling prey to North Korean “communist forces” and to a constitutional crisis owing to a political impasse in the opposition-controlled legislature. He was forced to withdraw the declaration just hours later.

U.S. Patriot missile batteries in S. Korea to be temporarily deployed to Middle East | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · April 4, 2025

By Lee Minji

SEOUL, April 4 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States have recently agreed on a plan to temporarily deploy Patriot missile defense batteries from the South to the Middle East, sources said Friday, amid speculation over a potential shift in the role of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK).

The allies agreed last month on the "monthslong" partial deployment of the Patriot Advanced Capability-3, the first known case involving the relocation of USFK assets to the Middle East, according to the sources.

The missiles work alongside South Korea's own air defense assets in a multilayered missile defense system against North Korea's missile and nuclear threats, according to the sources.

The rare move comes after U.S. broadcaster NBC News reported last week that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has authorized at least two Patriot missile defense batteries from Asia to be moved to the Middle East as the U.S. takes military action against Yemen's Houthi rebels.

But it also comes amid growing concerns here that Washington may demand that Seoul further shoulder the cost of the upkeep of the USFK or reconsider the role of U.S. troops in South Korea as U.S. President Donald Trump takes a "transactional" approach to alliances.

The USFK reaffirmed its ironclad commitment to the Korean Peninsula, without providing further details, citing internal policy, when asked about the latest deployment.

"USFK will temporarily deploy personnel and equipment from the Republic of Korea as part of a rotational deployment," it said in a statement. "USFK will still maintain a ready, capable, and lethal force on the Korean peninsula prepared to respond to any contingency."

This March 10, 2025, file photo shows Patriot missile defense batteries at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, about 65 kilometers south of Seoul. (Yonhap)

mlee@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · April 4, 2025

4. Analysis: South Korea faces significant challenges after Yoon removed

Professor Robertson's take in Seoul.

Excerpts:

Impact. In the immediate term, South Korea must navigate the complexities of organizing a presidential election amidst a polarized electorate. Short-term challenges include managing public demonstrations and ensuring a peaceful transition of power.

Medium-term, the normalization of extremist rhetoric may influence policy directions and governance approaches. Long-term, the erosion of democratic norms could lead to systemic instability, affecting both domestic governance and international relations. Diplomats should closely monitor these developments to assess their implications for regional stability and bilateral engagements.

I think we won't know the impact until the snap election and what a new President does going forward.

Analysis

Analysis: South Korea faces significant challenges after Yoon removed

South Korea's constitutional court's decision is less a victory for democracy and more a sign of challenges ahead.

https://www.junotane.com/p/analysis-south-korea-faces-significant-challenges-after-yoon-removed?utm

Apr 04, 2025

Significance. The Constitutional Court's unanimous decision to remove President Yoon Suk-yeol from office on April 4, 2025, has elicited widespread public reactions, ranging from jubilant celebrations to vehement protests. While this verdict is seen by many as a triumph for democratic accountability, it simultaneously exposes and potentially exacerbates underlying challenges within South Korea's political and social fabric.

The nation's entrenched polarization, the normalization of extremist rhetoric, and the erosion of democratic norms pose significant threats to its stability and governance.

Analysis. President Yoon Suk-yeol's tenure culminated in controversy when he declared martial law on December 3, 2024, citing threats from opposition forces. This unprecedented move involved deploying military personnel to obstruct the National Assembly's functions, leading to immediate domestic and international condemnation. The National Assembly responded by impeaching Yoon on December 14, 2024, suspending his presidential powers and appointing Prime Minister Han Duck-soo as acting president. The Constitutional Court's recent ruling has now formalized Yoon's removal, necessitating a presidential election within 60 days.

Share Junotane

Although many view the verdict as a victory for democratic accountability, it also lays bare — and may intensify — the deeper fractures within South Korea’s political and social landscape. Widening polarization, the mainstreaming of extremist rhetoric, and the ongoing erosion of democratic norms present serious threats to national stability and effective governance. The three areas of concern include:

1. Entrenched polarization. The impeachment proceedings have entrenched societal divisions, fostering two opposing narratives: one portraying Yoon as a defender against legislative overreach, and the other depicting him as a violator of constitutional order. This dichotomy has intensified factionalism, with both camps likely to leverage the court's decision to further their agendas. Polarization is fuelled by online misinformation and social media algorithms. The deepening polarization threatens to obstruct constructive political discourse and policy-making, as mutual distrust hampers collaboration across party lines.
Increased extremism. The extensive media coverage surrounding the impeachment has amplified sensationalist content, inadvertently legitimizing extreme viewpoints. The relentless pursuit of attention-grabbing headlines has marginalized moderate perspectives, allowing fringe elements to gain prominence. This environment fosters a political culture where radical positions become normalized, and the incentive for leaders to engage in populist theatrics increases. Future politicians may exploit media dynamics to manipulate public sentiment, prioritizing spectacle over substantive governance.
The greatest risk is a reversal of the trend towards centralization in South Korea’s political environment (something we have seen in other democracies). Reflecting the paths of other economically advanced liberal democracies, South Korea was on a trend towards political centralization - the left increasingly recognizes the need to grow and strengthen the economy, while the right recognizes the need to cater to and address social inequality. The last twelve months have seen both left and right revert to positions more familiar to older generations.
Erosion of democratic norms. The precedent set by Yoon's impeachment saga raises concerns about the resilience of South Korea's democratic institutions. The willingness to circumvent established protocols for political gain undermines the integrity of governance structures. This of course includes Yoon’s declaration of martial law itself, but also includes the over-utilization of the courts in place of politics.
For young South Koreans, the imposition of martial law is now no longer an event that occurred “when our parents were young”. This means that this scale of disruption has to a degree become normalized in the political consciousness. Understandably, for many extra-constitutional politics are associated with the right. This creates a blind spot in the public perception of political action outside democratic norms by the left.
Democratic norms separate the judiciary from the legislature and the executive for a reason - each is a check and balance on the other. Politicization of the judiciary is a constant in all democracies, but most often plays out in the background. The overt politicization of the judiciary through multiple ineffective impeachments strains its capacity to act as a check and balance. This upends democratic norms but is now a feature of the political environment.
Similarly, as an outraged public reacted to Yoon’s declaration of martial law, the Ministry of Defense stated that it would not obey commands for a second declaration of martial law. As recently as the week before the impeachment verdict was given, the Ministry of Defense reiterated this decision. This raises an important question on who is actually in command of South Korea’s military. Is it the president or an army officer who decides on the constitutionality (and public attitude towards) an order? Again, this upends democratic norms but is now a feature and even a public expectation of the political environment.

Internationally, the four months of upheaval has impacted South Korea's diplomatic engagements. Allies and partners now view South Korea’s domestic instability as a sign of unpredictability, which influences bilateral and multilateral relations.

The U.S. Defense Secretary's decision to forgo a visit to Seoul highlights the diplomatic ostracization of South Korea that resulted from the chaos. The focus on internal conflicts diverted attention from pressing foreign policy challenges, affecting South Korea's strategic positioning in regional and global affairs.

South Korea now faces three further months, during which time the election and domestic politics will disrupt South Korea’s diplomatic performance. After this, it will take another three months for a new administration to settle in and commence work on policy implementation. International diplomacy will not wait, and South Korea’s capacity to secure preferred outcomes will be hindered.

Share Junotane

Impact. In the immediate term, South Korea must navigate the complexities of organizing a presidential election amidst a polarized electorate. Short-term challenges include managing public demonstrations and ensuring a peaceful transition of power.

Medium-term, the normalization of extremist rhetoric may influence policy directions and governance approaches. Long-term, the erosion of democratic norms could lead to systemic instability, affecting both domestic governance and international relations. Diplomats should closely monitor these developments to assess their implications for regional stability and bilateral engagements.

5. Top South Korean Court Upholds President’s Impeachment

There does not have to be massive unrest. Korean must solve their problems and divisions politically and not through violence.

Excerpts:

Ironically, President Yoon, a civilian prosecutor general, has now been found guilty of trying to imitate Park and Chun. Yoon clearly misread his own countrymen’s political maturity. On the night of his coup attempt, thousands of people, mostly young men and women, surged to the National Assembly as armed soldiers sought to surround the parliament building. They confronted the armed soldiers and some blocked them from entering the parliament building and seizing legislators by force.

It was a glaring demonstration of how South Koreans had changed in their political maturity. As President Yoon sought to push through an endorsement by his legislative followers of the martial law edict, citizens around the National Assembly refused. Nor did any member of the cabinet stand up to support Yoon’s declaration. Prime Minister Han Duck Soo stood and declared loudly No, with others following suit. It was a glaring demonstration of political change taking place in post-Park and post-Chun Korea.

On the night of December 3, it was only President Yoon who advocated a return to military rule, who stood alone, watching the new era unfold as he adjourned the cabinet session. South Korea had become a different country, and Yoon lost his job.

Politics

Top South Korean Court Upholds President’s Impeachment

Country heads for new election and massive political unrest

https://www.asiasentinel.com/p/top-south-korea-court-uphold-yoon-suk-yeol-impeachment?utm

Apr 04, 2025

By: Shim Jae Hoon

Photo from USA Today

Four months after declaring martial law on the night of December 3, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been found guilty of violating the constitution and ousted from office by the country’s Constitutional Court, which upheld the impeachment motion voted by the National Assembly on December 14.

The court’s widely-anticipated ruling, delivered on April 4, isn’t expected to end the country’s continuing political crisis, however, which is complicated by efforts to deal with the administration of US President Donald Trump at a time of slowing growth in Asia's fourth-largest economy and a shock move by Trump, in Washington yesterday, to unveil tariffs of 25 percent for South Korean exports.

The US is Seoul’s second biggest trading partner after China, with almost US$128 billion worth of exports of cars and car parts, semiconductors, and consumer goods. Acting President Han Duck-soo called for talks with the US over the impact of the threatened tariffs and ordered emergency support measures for businesses.

Yoon was found guilty of trying to seize emergency power and dismissed from office by a unanimous vote. He is the second sitting president to have been impeached and removed from office after President Park Geun-hye in 2017, who was convicted on charges of abusing presidential power and taking bribes.

South Korean voters are acutely divided between conservative supporters of Yoon’s People Power Party and center-left constituents endorsing the opposition Democratic Party, which controls 170 seats in the 300-seat parliament. The divisions run so deep that a change of government power between the two sides hasn’t matured their relationships.

Animosity on the side of the Democratic Party, based mainly in the urban working class and farmers in the southwest of the country, runs so deep that it often appears irreconcilable with urban, business-oriented conservative voters. For example, the party’s top judiciary legislator has openly called for Yoon to be “executed on charges of attempted insurrection,” thus provoking further alarm from the conservatives.

The deep-seated animosity is expected to sharpen in the coming weeks and months as the nation prepares for new polls to choose Yoon’s replacement in June which is required by the constitution to be held within 60 days. Han Duck-soo will stay on as acting president until a new leader is sworn in.

To exacerbate the already sharp animosity, the Democratic Party leader Lee Jae Myung, the opposition presidential hopeful, is himself a highly controversial figure, facing a host of criminal corruption charges. His repeated evasion of court summons to answer the charges has fired a public uproar, with one assailant under arrest for unsuccessfully attempting to assassinate him. A populist figure, Lee lost the last presidential election to Yoon by a razor-thin margin of less than one-percentage point. The conservatives have a wide-open field of candidates to face Lee, with no clear front-runner.

In the constitutional court’s ruling, which took an exceptionally long three months to reach, the eight sitting judges ruled that Yoon’s illegal declaration of martial law amounted to illegally usurping the constitution for political purposes. Their unanimous decision declared that Yoon’s argument that he had to resort to an extraordinary steps of martial law because the opposition party’s obstructionism on the floors of parliament, including repeated impeachment motions against the administration’s appointees and refusal to consider the fiscal budget bill could not be considered sufficient grounds for declaring martial law.

Yoon was accused of using the martial law declaration as an excuse to suppress his political opponents. The court dismissed his claim that his declaration of martial law was intended as a short action to warn the opposition, without any serious attempt to stop legislators from entering the parliament building.

The constitutional court, however, found Yoon guilty of mobilizing armed troops and defying his own cabinet’s opposition to the martial law declaration as an illegal action. Yoon, in effect, launched a coup with support from his defense minister, who is now in jail, and a couple of army generals responsible for military intelligence. However, the generals have denied supporting Yoon’s action.

The court’s unanimous ruling has removed any potential for future discord about its ruling. Yoon’s failure to attempt a coup constitutes a valuable political lesson in a country with a history of a couple of army coups d’état in the last century. President Park Chung Hee came to power in a coup in 1961 and managed to hold onto power for 18 years until his assassination in 1979. The late Park ruled the country with an iron fist by using intelligence and coercion, and compiled a controversial record on human rights violations.

Then-army general Chun Doo Hwan, Park’s top military intelligence chief, seized power in 1980. Both generals, however, left a record of rapid economic development, although their rule often resulted in harsh civilian oppression.

Ironically, however, their successful economic leadership ended up creating a political awareness that betrayed their own usefulness, resulting in the highly successful democratic revolution of 1987 that ended in criminalizing General Chun and his cohorts.

Ironically, President Yoon, a civilian prosecutor general, has now been found guilty of trying to imitate Park and Chun. Yoon clearly misread his own countrymen’s political maturity. On the night of his coup attempt, thousands of people, mostly young men and women, surged to the National Assembly as armed soldiers sought to surround the parliament building. They confronted the armed soldiers and some blocked them from entering the parliament building and seizing legislators by force.

It was a glaring demonstration of how South Koreans had changed in their political maturity. As President Yoon sought to push through an endorsement by his legislative followers of the martial law edict, citizens around the National Assembly refused. Nor did any member of the cabinet stand up to support Yoon’s declaration. Prime Minister Han Duck Soo stood and declared loudly No, with others following suit. It was a glaring demonstration of political change taking place in post-Park and post-Chun Korea.

On the night of December 3, it was only President Yoon who advocated a return to military rule, who stood alone, watching the new era unfold as he adjourned the cabinet session. South Korea had become a different country, and Yoon lost his job.

6. U.S. experts forecast rough ride ahead for S. Korea-U.S. alliance amid leadership vacuum in Seoul

But it does not have to be that way. The Korean military and professional civil servants have shown that they can continue to function with the leadership vacuum that has already occurred since December 3, 2024. And with effective alliance management by the US it does not have to be a rough ride.

We have to accept the reality of the political situation and deal with it. We cannot allow yourselves to put our heads in the sand and hope this blows over. I know the reluctance of thanksgiving the appearance of US meddling in internal political affairs but the best way ahead is for us to continue business as usual in as many areas as possible, especially security.

That said, we are inflicting a lot of chaos into the situation with the tariffs. But that could also work for the political leaders in Korea (probably on both sides). The Korean people could be mobilized to "defend themselves" against the tariffs with a whole of society response as they did in response to the IMF crisis of 1997. Our tariffs could be a forcing function to unify the Korean people of the South against an "external "enemy." (everyone needs an enemy :-) )

(LEAD) (News Focus) U.S. experts forecast rough ride ahead for S. Korea-U.S. alliance amid leadership vacuum in Seoul | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · April 4, 2025

(ATTN: ADDS another analyst's comment in paras 20-22)

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, April 4 (Yonhap) -- U.S. experts on Friday anticipated a tough road ahead for the Seoul-Washington alliance in the coming months, noting the bilateral relationship would remain in limbo until South Korea elects a successor to now-dismissed President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Some pointed to Yoon's ouster in accordance with constitutional procedures as another sign of South Korea's democratic resilience, while uncertainty bounds over the alliance that faces multiple headwinds, including U.S. President Donald Trump's escalating tariff salvo.

The Constitutional Court unanimously upheld the impeachment of Yoon on Friday (Korea time), unseating him from office over his short-lived martial law imposition in December and setting the stage for a presidential election likely in June.

This file photo, taken Feb. 20, 2025, shows then President Yoon Suk Yeol appearing at the Constitutional Court in Seoul. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

"The relationship will remain in suspension until South Korea elects a new leader, with the acting government managing daunting challenges as best as it can until the vacuum in Korea's political leadership is filled," Scott Snyder, the president and CEO of the Korea Economic Institute of America, told Yonhap News Agency.

Albeit under sharp scrutiny and attack from the opposition camp, acting President Han Duck-soo is now tasked to steer South Korea through the highly charged presidential election period. Yet, experts raised questions over the capacity of the caretaker government to successfully cope with daunting alliance tasks.

"In terms of the alliance, we will have to wait two to three months before we will know. In the meantime, the acting government and Korean economy will suffer for the next two months under a bevy of U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum, Mexico-based Korean exports, car exports, and the reciprocal tariffs," Victor Cha, Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Yonhap News Agency via email.

"It will be hard for an acting president who will not be in office in two months to get an audience with Trump to cut some deal on exemptions. I am certain that this will be a big issue in the election campaign."

The verdict on Yoon came as Seoul officials have been scurrying to secure exemptions from the Trump administration's new levies or at least minimize their repercussions on Asia's fourth-largest economy at a time of deepening economic interdependence with the United States.

On Wednesday, Trump unveiled a 25 percent "reciprocal" tariff for South Korea, with his government's tariffs on imported cars having taken effect the following day. He is also moving to slap tariffs on semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and other products -- all bound to impact Korea's export-reliant economy.

Missing in the tariff saga was direct leader-to-leader engagement between Seoul and Washington, which some observers said might have helped ease Trump's tariff pressure and more smoothly address other bilateral issues, including security coordination.

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington on April 2, 2025, in this photo released by Reuters. (Yonhap)

"Yoon's impeachment means there will continue to be a leadership vacuum for at least two more months in Seoul making it difficult for South Korea to fully respond to Trump's fast-paced, hard charging foreign and economic policies," Andrew Yeo, the SK-Korea Foundation chair at the Brookings Institution's Center for East Asia Policy Studies, told Yonhap News Agency.

"The U.S.-South Korea alliance under Biden already feels like a bygone past as Trump has chosen to bypass or stay mostly silent about the U.S.-ROK alliance other than criticize Seoul for its trade imbalance," he added. ROK is short for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.

In various public appearances, Trump has exhibited his negative perception toward South Korea as a trading partner as the U.S. trade deficit with South Korea was tallied at US$66 billion last year, a nearly 30 percent rise from the previous year, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

That perception was on full display when he told Congress last month that South Korea's average tariff rate is four times higher than that of the U.S. -- a charge that Seoul countered by saying that it stands at less than 1 percent under a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) with the U.S.

South Korea's average tariff on its most-favored nations (MFNs) stands at around 13.4 percent -- compared with the U.S.' 3.3 percent on its MFNs -- but that rate is not applicable to countries with FTAs with Korea.

Yeo expressed hope that the next South Korean president will be able to engage Trump and manage the alliance in a manner that addresses concerns on the Korean Peninsula and in the region through close coordination.

Some analysts voiced confidence in South Korea's democracy and its acting president who served as the ambassador to the U.S. from 2009-2012.

"With Yoon's unanimous impeachment ruling by the court, Korea has restored itself as a beacon of democratic resilience," Rob Rapson, a retired U.S. diplomat who formerly served as charge d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, told Yonhap News Agency.

"Now onto elections in 60 days. In the interim period, until a new president and government is in place, Han Duck-soo should be a capable steward/manager of state affairs, including relations with the U.S."

Acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo delivers a televised address to the nation following the Constitutional Court's ruling that ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol on April 4, 2025. (Yonhap)

Patrick Cronin, chair for Asia-Pacific Security at the Hudson Institute, said that the top court's decision on Yoon "clears the way for South Korea to reclaim its global influence through a democratic election," and that Trump will congratulate and work with the victor who will emerge from South Korea's snap election.

But that welcome will come with "firm America First expectations," ranging from trade tariffs to increased defense cost-sharing, Cronin pointed out.

"A host of strategic agreements await, but success will depend on whether both leaders can make compromises that serve the interests of both the Korean and American people," he said.

Observers concurred that Friday's court ruling on Yoon is not a conclusion of the political crisis in South Korea, which has taken a heavy toll on the Seoul-Washington partnership.

In the midst of political uncertainty in Seoul, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth skipped South Korea in his recent trip to the Indo-Pacific, adding to concerns over the potential impact of Seoul's impeachment turmoil. His predecessor, Lloyd Austin, also excluded a stop in South Korea during his Asian swing late last year.

"Unanimous decision by the Court was important rather than a divided one, but this does not end the crisis," Cha said. "We move from stage 1 which was the 4.5 month impeachment crisis to stage 2 which is the election."

President Yoon Suk Yeol (L) and Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, attend a ceremony to mark Memorial Day at the National Cemetery in Seoul, in this file photo dated June 6, 2024. The Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment of Yoon on April 4, 2025, removing him from office over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December. (Yonhap)

sshluck@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · April 4, 2025

7. Ex-President Yoon says sorry for not living up to public expectations after impeachment upheld

Taking responsibility.

I just wish he would issue a message to his supporters that they must support the democratic process and refrain from political violence.

Ex-President Yoon says sorry for not living up to public expectations after impeachment upheld | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Eun-jung · April 4, 2025

By Kim Eun-jung

SEOUL, April 4 (Yonhap) -- Former President Yoon Suk Yeol said Friday he was sorry for not being able to meet public expectations after the Constitutional Court removed him from office over his short-lived martial law declaration in December.

Yoon issued an apology through his lawyers hours after the court unanimously ousted him from office.

"I deeply regret not being able to live up to your hopes and expectations," Yoon said in a statement.

"It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve our nation. I am sincerely grateful for your unwavering support and encouragement, even when I fell short."

President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during the 11th hearing of his impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Seoul on Feb. 25, 2025, in this file photo provided by the court. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

ejkim@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Eun-jung · April 4, 2025

8. Senior presidential aides offer to resign following Yoon's ouster

(2nd LD) Senior presidential aides offer to resign following Yoon's ouster | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Eun-jung · April 4, 2025

(ATTN: UPDATES with Han's rejection of resignation offers in paras 3-4)

SEOUL, April 4 (Yonhap) -- Senior aides to former President Yoon Suk Yeol offered to resign en masse Friday, the presidential office said, after the Constitutional Court removed Yoon from office over his failed martial law bid.

Yoon's chief of staff, Chung Jin-suk, National Security Adviser Shin Won-sik and 13 other aides submitted their resignations to acting President Han Duck-soo after the court upheld Yoon's impeachment over his short-lived martial law declaration in a unanimous vote.

Han rejected their resignation offers, urging the aides to continue managing state affairs.

The decision was made "to leave no administrative vacuum amid the grave economic and security situation, and to ensure urgent state affairs proceed without disruption," Han's office said in a release.

Officials at the presidential office lower the presidential flag at the office after the Constitutional Court upheld an impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk Yeol on April 4, 2025. (Yonhap)

The presidential office was in a somber mood as senior aides watched the live broadcast of the ruling from their offices, while Yoon viewed it from his residence in central Seoul.

In a statement after the ruling, Yoon said it was "a great honor" to serve the country and he was sorry for not being able to meet people's expectations.

Shortly after the announcement at 11:22 a.m., officials lowered the presidential flag displayed in front of the presidential office in Yongsan.

With the court's decision stripping him of office, Yoon is expected to vacate the presidential residence soon.

It was unclear whether Yoon would move to his private residence in southern Seoul later in the day, as preparations may take time.

Former President Park Geun-hye left the former presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae two days after her impeachment was upheld by the Constitutional Court in 2017.

ejkim@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Eun-jung · April 4, 2025

9. Tariffs Can Actually Work—if Only Trump Understood How

Excerpts:

The bottom line is that, whereas the gaiatsu of that earlier era was surgical, Trump’s scattershot approach could very well tank the world economy while unraveling it for good. Pressure against Japan worked 30 years ago in part because it was singled out, and U.S. security guarantees during the Cold War meant that Japan was not going to retaliate.

But now, Trump is threatening to withdraw security protection from U.S. allies extending from Europe to South Korea, while at the same time threatening them over trade. They’re almost all going to retaliate, and tariffs could reach the same levels that helped exacerbate the Great Depression.

It’s not surprising that, rather than kowtowing to Trump, some governments and companies are ready to look for alternatives. Japan’s Suntory Holdings said on Thursday that it might bypass the U.S. market altogether and shift its whiskeys to its home market and other Asian nations.

French President Emmanuel Macron, calling the tariffs “brutal and unfounded” in remarks on Thursday, proposed a pause on investment in the United States.

“What would the message be, of having big European players that invest billions in the American economy at the same time they are hitting us?” Macron said. “We must have collective solidarity.”

Tariffs Can Actually Work—if Only Trump Understood How

Smart trade policy could help restore jobs, but the president’s carpet-bomb approach portends disaster.

April 3, 2025, 5:20 PM

A pencil drawing of the headshot of Michael Hirsh

Michael Hirsh

By Michael Hirsh, a columnist for Foreign Policy.

Foreign Policy · by Michael Hirsh

United States
China

Trump’s Second Term

Ongoing reports and analysis

As U.S. President Donald Trump launched his new global trade war on Wednesday—what he dubbed a “declaration of economic independence”—he delivered what may be the most delusional account of modern economic history ever to be heard from the White House.

Trump said the United States has been “looted, pillaged, raped, and plundered” by “friend and foe alike” for “more than 50 years.” He declared, absurdly, that “none of our companies are allowed to go into other countries” even though U.S. goods and services exports exceeded $3 trillion in 2024 after steadily rising over the past two decades. Trump suggested, even more absurdly, that the Great Depression would never have happened had Washington not lifted its tariff policies more than 100 years ago.

And on Wednesday by reimposing stiff tariffs on just about every country, Trump declared that “jobs and factories will come roaring back” to foster a new “golden age,” and that “April 2, 2025, will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn.”

That’s highly unlikely to happen. On the contrary, the neutron bomb that Trump dropped on the global economic system on April 2 could portend a death spiral—especially for leading U.S. manufacturers that depend on global supply chains. On Wall Street, the markets plunged on Thursday, led by a huge sell-off of technology stocks.

Moreover, the U.S. corporate sector—along with the rest of the world—reacted with horror at the crude arithmetic behind the new Trump policies, along with the investment-dampening uncertainties created by them. The array of tariffs that Trump announced appeared to be based on a simplistic formula by which U.S. trade deficits in goods (not services) were divided by imports—reflecting Trump’s ill-conceived idea that countries are like corporations and trade surpluses are in effect profits, while deficits are losses.

Take China. If one divides the U.S. deficit of $295.4 billion with China in 2024 by the amount of imported goods from China, $438.9 billion, the result is 67 percent, which is what Trump said on Wednesday is effectively China’s tariff on U.S. goods. The Trump team then divided that number approximately in half to determine that the United States’ “reciprocal” tariff on China would be 34 percent.

There is no apparent economic rationale to support this.

“This is not policy—it’s really stupidity,” said Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, who has also long supported progressive trade that deploys tariffs.

Trump’s approach suggests that his pre-Adam Smith, mercantilist view of trade deficits, which he held in his first term, hasn’t changed at all. It also suggests that he’s largely unfamiliar with the last 250 years of economic theory, which have shown undeniably that trade is not the zero-sum game that Trump thinks it is but rather benefits all.

Trump appears to pine for an irretrievable past that was dominated, briefly, by his 1890s-era hero, President William McKinley, who—like Trump—described himself for a time as “tariff man.” That was an era when today’s strongest U.S. manufacturing sector, technology, didn’t exist, and no one even knew what “services” were.

“This is mind-boggling to economists,” said Stiglitz. “It’s absolutely absurd, particularly because it precludes services in a 21st-century economy in which services such as telecom, education, and finance represent 20 percent [of the country’s GDP], and manufacturing is only 10 percent.”

Adam Hersh of the progressive Economic Policy Institute, which has also long supported tariffs as a trade tool, was no less harsh.

“This is going to go down in history as the worst economic policy mistake that’s ever been made by a head of state,” he said. “It is so thoughtless and reckless it just boggles the mind.”

Donald Trump holds up both fists and appears to dance in front of a crowd of people, many of whom are wearing red hats and holding up cellphones as they record video. Behind Trump are stacks of metal parts in a manufacturing facility.

Donald Trump gestures while speaking at Drake Enterprises, an automotive parts manufacturer and supplier, in Clinton, Michigan, on Sept. 27, 2023, during his campaign to run for a second presidential term.Matthew Hatcher/AFP via Getty Images

The sad irony in all this is what Trump is missing. Smart and strategic trade policy—one that includes surgically targeted tariffs and other threats of trade sanctions—can actually achieve what the president has said is one of his main goals: pressuring other countries to invest in the United States and create American jobs.

U.S. policymakers proved that decades ago, when they took on the closed economy known as Japan Inc. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, both Republican and Democratic administrations imposed waves of sanctions and forced Tokyo to raise the value of the yen. In Japan, this was known as gaiatsu—and it helped restructure the economy. Japan’s giant corporations decided, over many years, to partially abandon what had become a slow-growth economy and started moving massive amounts of manufacturing to the United States.

As a result—to a startling degree, to many Americans—the Japanese companies became “us” rather than “them.” Thirty years ago, political hostility to Japanese manufacturing was so intense that people used to spit on or scratch parked Toyotas and Nissans. Today, “Japanese” cars are ubiquitous on U.S. roads, and almost no one cares because most are built or assembled in the United States. In 2024, Japanese automakers produced more than 3 million vehicles at production facilities in the United States—twice as many as were imported from Japan.

While the United States still has a substantial ($68 billion) trade deficit with Japan, it has declined over time. And when Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba visited Washington in February, he noted that Japanese companies have held the top spot for cumulative foreign direct investment in the United States over the past five years. Knowing how this would impress Trump, Ishiba added that Japan was looking to invest more in the United States.

Last week, after Trump announced 25 percent levies on imported cars and parts, Ishiba lamented that Trump’s views on tariffs were “difficult to understand.”

“There’s no question that the pressure we put on Japan back in the 1980s and ‘90s encouraged a lot of Japanese companies to invest more in the United States,” said Matthew Goodman of the Council on Foreign Relations, who served as an international economist at the U.S. Treasury Department in that era, including five years as a financial attaché at the U.S. embassy in Tokyo. “They wanted to be behind any protectionist wall we would create,” he added.

Oddly, Trump seems unaware of this profound progress, slamming Japan in his remarks Wednesday and complaining that “94 percent of the cars in Japan are still made in Japan.” For good measure, he slapped Tokyo with another 24 percent tariff.

In this vintage black-and-white photo, people work to assembly cars that stretch out on a factory line to the distant far end of a massive building. Signs on the car show numbers and Japanese characters.

Cars are assembled on the production line at a Toyota factory in Japan on April 10, 1980. The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images

Dozens of car doors move down a line at an auto manufacturing facility, hanging from a white metal scaffolding unit.

Doors for Honda Civics make their way down the assembly line at the Japanese automaker’s plant in Greensburg, a town in the U.S. state of Indiana, seen on March 17, 2011. Mira Oberman/AFP via Getty Images

Nonetheless, Trump is stumbling in the dark toward a similar goal, and he may have some limited success in building his own “protectionist wall.”

On the threat of greater tariffs—and because of the U.S. defense umbrella—South Korea’s Hyundai has just announced a $21 billion investment that will include a new steel plant with more than 1,400 employees in red-state Louisiana. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and Japan’s SoftBank have also announced major U.S. onshoring plans in recent months in an effort to avoid Trump’s wrath and tariffs.

And some major U.S. companies are responding by gesturing, at least, at onshoring: Apple said in February that it is investing billions in microchip production facilities in Texas. Intel and Micron have also said they’re going to build at home.

It’s not that Trump isn’t registering a legitimate complaint. In his speech, he noted that he’s been complaining about chronic trade deficits for 40 years, since he was a brash builder in Manhattan, as well as the unfair extent to which the United States supports a stable global economy.

Trump announces tariffs

Trump’s Wanton Tariffs Will Shatter the World Economy

Economic warfare is also a test for U.S. democracy.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading in New York City.

Markets Greet Trump’s Tariffs With a Blizzard of Red Numbers

Stocks, the dollar, and crude oil are all down on fears of a trade war-induced slowdown.

A camera looks down the length of an open freezer shelf of a grocery store aisle. A large sign above the display says "100% Aussie tender beef." Beyond the sign, cuts of meat wrapped in plastic are seen, slightly out of focus.

Are Tariffs the End of the Australian-U.S. Friendship?

Politicians of all stripes are tripping over each other to bash the U.S. trade war.

“We take care of countries all over the world,” he said. “We pay for their military. We pay for everything they have to pay. And then when you want to cut back a little bit, they get upset that you’re not taking care of them any longer. But we have to take care of our people, and we’re going to take care of our people first, and I’m sorry to say that.”

That message has strongly resonated with U.S. voters disturbed by the cavalier approach that both the Republican and Democratic parties have taken toward open trade. They fecklessly promoted globalization and did little to compensate the middle class for the brutal displacement of old industries and jobs. For two generations, policymakers who questioned free trade and pushed for “fair trade”—more tariffs, unemployment insurance, and worker protections—were edged out of the discussion.

Washington also completely deregulated Wall Street, allowing investment flows to facilitate the offshoring of production to low-wage countries, especially China.

Trump Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has even revived the idea of the 1985 Plaza Accord—an agreement between the then-Group of Five countries of France, Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan for market intervention to depreciate the dollar, mainly against the Japanese yen.

Bessent and Stephen Miran, who chairs the White House Council of Economic Advisers, have floated the idea of a “Mar-a-Lago accord” that would combine tariffs with a devaluation of the dollar, thus making U.S. products more competitive.

An illustration of a man in an old-fashioned 1890s suit at the center of a room holds a giant spoon and bottle of medicine. The walls are lined with sick men in hospital cots with signs above them labeling them as "Business man," "Populist," Jingoist," "Spoilsman," Anarchist," Filibuster," and "Monopolist."

A circa-1896 political cartoon depicts President William McKinley as a physician dispensing tariff medicine to various characters at a sanatorium. A sign on one man’s bed in the foreground reads “Hallucinations About Home Markets and Infant Industries.” Photo12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Trump doesn’t seem to appreciate that this is not the 1980s. No nation is likely to go along with a Plaza Accord-style deal today—especially with Trump eager to withdraw the U.S. defense umbrella from Europe and other places. Beyond that, a strong dollar is a mainstay of U.S. global power. The fact that the dollar is the world’s reserve currency means that, unlike other currencies, it cannot devalue to correct trade imbalances. Hence, importers retain an advantage over U.S. domestic producers—which is one reason that the U.S. suffers chronic deficits.

It’s also not the 1890s, when McKinley declared, “I am a tariff man, standing on a tariff platform.” In his remarks on April 2, Trump harked back to that supposed shining moment. “From 1789 to 1913, we were a tariff-backed nation, and the United States was proportionately the wealthiest it has ever been,” he said.

But back then, the United States was still a developing nation that specialized in heavy industry and agriculture—and did not uphold the global order. Even McKinley himself eventually came out against tariffs. Nor is today’s business environment even remotely like it was just 20 years ago, before global supply chains for U.S. corporations became so complex and spread out across continents.

“The world has moved on,” Stiglitz said. “Even if we got back 10 percent more manufacturing jobs, which would be enormous, that’s only 1 percent of the labor force. That’s not going to transform our economy.”

Stiglitz added: “I was just in China recently. The fact is that they have 10 times or so the engineers we do. And they are committed to science, while the Trump administration is scaling back on investment in science. We cannot, without engineers, be the leaders in modern manufacturing. In addition, most modern manufacturing doesn’t even use much labor anymore. It uses robots.”

A worker in protective gear is surrounded by sleek metal and manufacturing devices as they move something on a circular metal work surface in a production facility.

A worker places components on a production line at a semiconductor production facility in Gao’an, located in China’s Jiangxi province, on Jan. 10, 2024. Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images

U.S. companies that rely on sophisticated supply chains are now going to be hit in multiple ways. In recent years, Apple and other high-tech companies have sought to diversify these chains, moving to Vietnam and other Southeast Asian nations to avoid the China tariffs that became common for President Joe Biden as well as Trump. But Trump now has slapped most of those countries with heavy levies. Goods from Vietnam, for example, face a 46 percent tariff.

Trump also jettisoned Biden’s industrial policy plans, which most progressive economists see as essential tools along with tariffs.

“It’s giving a bad name to tariffs, and tariffs have been and can be effective tools in promoting industrial development,” said Hersh, from the Economic Policy Institute. “But tariffs are not sufficient on their own. They have to be combined with all kinds of other policies, subsidies, and credits,” he added, including expenditures such as those that came out of Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act as well as his CHIPS and Science Act.

All those uncertainties will more than counteract the incentives that Trump is creating, said Nathan Lane, an American economist at Oxford University, who calls the Trump tariff policy “more incoherent than we expected.”

“If you reshore something, those large capital projects take a long time, and so if policy is going to change by then, they’ve taken away the certainty that entails building here in the U.S.,” Lane said. “You really want to set expectations for the private sector properly. That clarity is part of doing industrial policy right.”

Not surprisingly, Apple led the Wall Street rout among the so-called Magnificent Seven group on Thursday. This reflects a long-term chilling effect on companies that rely not just on low-wage labor from abroad, but also on technical and scientific skills that many U.S. workers don’t have—and which, thanks to Elon Musk’s dramatic cost-cutting campaign affecting education and science, Americans are even less likely to get now.

As Forbes magazine commented, “For the first time in decades, tech giants must navigate a world where production costs are rising instead of falling.”

“I’m not sure it’s possible to revive U.S. manufacturing when your supply chain is subject to a global trade war,” Lane said. “You may incentivize bringing one slice of the value chain back. Yet you’re hitting the rest of the chain with volleys of tariffs.”

The bottom line is that, whereas the gaiatsu of that earlier era was surgical, Trump’s scattershot approach could very well tank the world economy while unraveling it for good. Pressure against Japan worked 30 years ago in part because it was singled out, and U.S. security guarantees during the Cold War meant that Japan was not going to retaliate.

But now, Trump is threatening to withdraw security protection from U.S. allies extending from Europe to South Korea, while at the same time threatening them over trade. They’re almost all going to retaliate, and tariffs could reach the same levels that helped exacerbate the Great Depression.

It’s not surprising that, rather than kowtowing to Trump, some governments and companies are ready to look for alternatives. Japan’s Suntory Holdings said on Thursday that it might bypass the U.S. market altogether and shift its whiskeys to its home market and other Asian nations.

French President Emmanuel Macron, calling the tariffs “brutal and unfounded” in remarks on Thursday, proposed a pause on investment in the United States.

“What would the message be, of having big European players that invest billions in the American economy at the same time they are hitting us?” Macron said. “We must have collective solidarity.”

This post is part of FP’s ongoing coverage of the Trump administration. Follow along here.

Foreign Policy · by Michael Hirsh

10. Business community urges nat'l unity for economic recovery following Yoon's removal

Could the business community become a unifier in the political chaos? Its leadership is needed especially with the tariffs issue.

Business community urges nat'l unity for economic recovery following Yoon's removal | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Chang Dong-woo · April 4, 2025

SEOUL, April 4 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's major business organizations on Friday called for the swift normalization of state affairs and national unity to revitalize the economy, following the Constitutional Court's decision to remove President Yoon Suk Yeol from office over his botched martial law attempt.

In a unanimous decision, the Constitutional Court upheld an impeachment motion of Yoon over his shocking declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, which sparked political turmoil and dealt a blow to the economy.

"The business community respects the Constitutional Court's ruling," the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), a major business lobby, said in a statement, stressing the need to move beyond political conflict and focus on national efforts for an economic recovery.

"Given the seriousness of the current economic situation, including sluggish domestic demand, weakening competitiveness in key industries and rising protectionist measures, such as U.S. tariffs, we hope for state affairs to return to normal swiftly," the KCCI said.

People seeking impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol's ouster express joy near the president's official residence in Seoul on April 4, 2025, after the Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment of Yoon, removing him from office over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December. (Yonhap)

The Korea Enterprises Federation (KEF) echoed the sentiment.

"The public must humbly accept the ruling and put an end to the deep political and societal divides caused by the impeachment proceedings. It is time to focus national energy on social cohesion and stability," it said in a statement.

KEF also called on the government and the National Assembly to demonstrate bipartisan leadership and resolve the current power vacuum and national division.

The Federation of Middle Market Enterprises of Korea said the court's decision reflects "the collective wisdom of the South Korean people under a democratic system."

It urged the government to activate all available diplomatic channels and establish a cooperative framework with the private sector to navigate global trade challenges, including Washington's new tariff measures announced by U.S. President Donald Trump.

People seeking impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol's ouster express joy near the Constitutional Court in Seoul on April 4, 2025, after the court upheld the impeachment of Yoon, removing him from office over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December. (Yonhap)

odissy@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Chang Dong-woo · April 4, 2025

11. On Defense, Trump’s Early Moves in Asia Have Been Notably Normal

This was my recommendation for the administration (below). He is actually building on the foundation he built in his first term and the Biden administration improved on. He does not need to throw out what the Biden administration did because he was really executing the Trump administration's strategy. You can see the throughline in the strategy documents.

"Silk Web of Alliances: Trump’s Legacy and the Indo-Pacific’s Future"

https://www.19fortyfive.com/2025/01/silk-web-of-alliances-trumps-legacy-and-the-indo-pacifics-future/

On Defense, Trump’s Early Moves in Asia Have Been Notably Normal

Despite its high-decible MAGA rhetoric, the administration has largely upheld the regional commitments made during Joe Biden’s presidency.

https://thediplomat.com/2025/04/on-defense-trumps-early-moves-in-asia-have-been-surprisingly-normal/

By Tom Corben

April 03, 2025

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth greets U.S. Soldiers with U.S. Army Pacific (USARPAC) at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, March 25, 2025.

Credit: U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Julian Elliott-Drouin

Throughout the Joe Biden presidency, it became a common refrain amongst policy analysts that his administration’s approach to foreign policy could be characterized as “America First, with a smile.”

It reflected what many saw as a “strange continuity” in substance, if not style, between the first Trump administration and the Biden era, including on Asia policy. Such constancy gave allies and partners some comfort that U.S. commitment to the region could withstand Trump’s return to the White House.

Trump 2.0, however, is evidently a different beast. Beyond unsettling policy shifts at home, his administration’s pillorying of European partners and its reckless approach to economic policy – including the considerable “Liberation Day” tariffs on many of the United States’ most important Asian partners that were announced this week – has left many rightly worried about the credibility of U.S. Indo-Pacific alliances and the future of U.S. regional strategy more broadly.

Yet amid all the noise, we’ve also had some welcome signs of normalcy on U.S. regional strategy, at least as far as defense is concerned.

Amid the fallout from “SignalGate” and Trump’s tariffs, it was easy to miss U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s first regional tour last week. Notwithstanding its MAGA idiosyncrasies, the vision presented by Hegseth in Hawaii, the Philippines, and Japan offered welcoming signs of continuity on U.S. regional security commitments.

Indeed, Hegseth’s major policy address in Honolulu was notable for its normalcy. As one colleague quipped to me, stripped of its ideological overtones, it was “a speech that any defense secretary could have given.”

Hegseth insisted that the Indo-Pacific – “the region of consequence” – would remain the United States’ top geographic priority, citing Trump’s 2017 “Indo-Pacific dream” speech in Vietnam as the genesis of that commitment. He reiterated that promise in Manila, declaring that Trump would walk the talk of prioritization “in a way that is unprecedented” through the quality and quantity of U.S. forces assigned to Asia. Granted, successive U.S. defense secretaries since the early 2000s have promised prioritization, but have not delivered in practice. Even so, Hegseth’s was a welcome pledge given regional concerns over the reliability of U.S. security guarantees amid projected troop drawdowns in Europe and growing military distractions in the Middle East.

On China, Hegseth made clear that collective deterrence remains the guiding concept for U.S. defense strategy. Pledges to posture U.S. forces for “warfighting” in that face of “Communist Chinese military aggression” may have struck a confrontational tone. Yet the underlying objective of achieving “robust, ready, and credible deterrence” together with allies and partners is broadly consistent with the Biden administration’s own approach to defense strategy, optimized for “denial, resilience, and collective cost imposition” with China as the “pacing challenge.” Alliances and partnerships also remain central to the Trump version of that strategy. Rather than “ignoring allies and partners,” Hegseth repeatedly stressed throughout his tour that U.S. success in Asia depends on paying “even greater attention to the relationships that matter the most,” noting that “America First does not mean America only.”

Such attention will, naturally, include a laser focus on burden-sharing, given Trump’s fixation on what he sees as free-riding by U.S. treaty allies. Hegseth’s insistence that collective defense “has to be a two-way street” and that Washington will “right-size [alliance] obligations and responsibilities needed for modern deterrence” made that much clear. Other influential Pentagon figures have already dismissed allied defense budgets of anything below 3 percent of GDP as “manifestly inadequate.” Japan’s experience under Trump 1.0 and recent U.S. engagements with European and Asian leaders also suggest that regional allies should expect greater pressure to buy U.S. weapons under the guise of “empowerment.”

But it’s also clear that Trump’s approach to alliances will, at least at face value, be about more than correcting alliance balance sheets. It will also involve modernizing alliances to equip them with the tools to better contribute to collective security. New force posture and defense industry initiatives announced with Australia, India, Japan, and the Philippines since January 2025, including several during Hegseth’s trip, are strong indicators that Trump will persist with Biden’s alliance modernization agenda, itself built upon the efforts of the first Trump administration.

Efforts to network U.S. regional alliances also appear likely to endure. Indeed, it was no coincidence that Hegseth’s Asia trip took place against the backdrop of trilateral Japan-Philippines-U.S. naval operations in the South China Sea aimed at countering Chinese encroachment. This, along with earlier endorsements of AUKUS and the Quad, which both received great attention under Biden, suggest that the administration is willing to stick with regional security groupings that are delivering practical outcomes.

After a frenetic first three months, Hegseth’s first Asia foray may help U.S. allies and partners in Asia breathe a little easier about America’s regional commitments – for this week, at least.

Yet while the early signs on bilateral defense policy are promising, there remain serious reasons to worry about the non-military tools of U.S. statecraft. Left unaddressed, the gutting of U.S. soft power and the president’s confrontational trade policies will likely undercut early gains, while focusing only on deterring Chinese military aggression could yet alienate key partners across the region. It is also difficult to reconcile Hegseth’s rhetorical commitments to prioritizing defense requirements in Asia with a renewed surge in the Middle East and the tasking of high-end military assets to the southern U.S. border for security operations. Together, all of these factors this would make for a hollow Indo-Pacific strategy.

While Hegseth might have sent the right signals this week, the Trump administration has much to do to in the coming months to show that the return of “America First, with a scowl” in Asia is more than a military equation.

Authors

Guest Author

Tom Corben

Tom Corben in a research fellow in the foreign policy and defence program at the United States Studies Centre.

12. Curiosity and consequences: Young N. Koreans risk prison for S. Korean TV

Like the bomber in air power theory, information will always get through.

Curiosity and consequences: Young N. Koreans risk prison for S. Korean TV - Daily NK English

"South Korean channels are easily accessible in South Hwanghae province, and anyone can tune in by simply deactivating the lock," a source told Daily NK

By Lee Chae Eun - April 4, 2025

dailynk.com · by Lee Chae Eun · April 4, 2025

A view of Panmunjom from the South Korean side of the border. (Wikimedia Commons)

North Korea has recently intensified television inspections in the border city of Haeju to ensure locals are keeping their channels locked and avoiding South Korean television shows.

“Two young people in Haeju were recently caught watching South Korean shows on their home television. Since then, monitors have been inspecting more homes throughout various parts of South Hwanghae province,” a source in the province told Daily NK on recently.

According to the source, monitors from the anti-socialist and non-socialist behavior group have been making rounds of neighborhood watch units in Haeju and verifying channel locks. This group is responsible for preventing the watching or distribution of foreign media, including South Korean movies and television shows.

On March 24, two people in their 20s were arrested by these monitors.

The two youths had been watching a show on a new television in late February when, out of curiosity, they experimented with the dial and managed to pick up a South Korean channel. For several days afterward, they secretly watched South Korean shows when other family members were away from home.

The youths had intended to keep their activities secret, but one of them mentioned a South Korean show they had watched during a drinking party with friends. One of these friends reported the matter to the anti-socialist and non-socialist group.

As a result, both people were arrested and are currently being held by police for questioning.

“When you purchase a new television in North Korea, you must lock the set so it won’t display South Korean channels. However, South Korean channels are easily accessible in South Hwanghae province, and anyone can tune in by simply deactivating the lock. These two youths apparently did that out of curiosity,” the source explained.

Since the youths were caught watching South Korean television, Haeju authorities have allocated more resources to checking for foreign media consumption and deactivated channel locks.

“The authorities had been inspecting channel locks since early March when they caught some young people watching South Korean television. Since then, anti-socialist and non-socialist monitors have been visiting multiple neighborhood watch units daily to check channel locks and search for flash drives and SD cards,” the source said.

According to a Daily NK report last month that quoted a source inside the country, state security agents in Ungjin county (South Hwanghae province) and Hyesan (Ryanggang province) have been visiting families to ensure their channel locks are activated.

The Haeju youths arrested for watching South Korean television are expected to receive severe punishment.

“I doubt they’ll be let off with a warning. Since the youths were caught during a crackdown, they’ll probably be sent to prison to set an example,” the source said.

According to Article 33 of the Reactionary Ideology and Culture Rejection Law, enacted in December 2020 to block the influx of foreign information, anyone who violates regulations regarding electronic devices or transmission equipment including televisions, radios, and computers can be sentenced to disciplinary labor or, in severe cases, up to five years of hard labor.

“Young people nowadays are bold enough to watch South Korean videos even during a crackdown. They seem determined to watch those videos regardless of how severe the crackdown becomes,” the source concluded.

Read in Korean

dailynk.com · by Lee Chae Eun · April 4, 2025

13. Empty promises: N. Korea's new factories fail to deliver for ordinary citizens

What is the long term impact on the potential for resistance?

So much to exploit from an information and influence perspective. Kim keeps serving up softballs for the PSYOP professionals with his policy failures. north Korea should be a laboratory for psychological operations. If only we were not so risk averse toward influence.

Empty promises: N. Korea's new factories fail to deliver for ordinary citizens - Daily NK English

Staff at newly built factories spend more time on side projects such as organizing events, maintaining hygiene, planting trees, and reinforcing ideology than on actual production work

By Seon Hwa - April 4, 2025

dailynk.com · by Seon Hwa · April 4, 2025

North Korea is boasting about exceptional output from new factories built as part of its 20×10 regional development policy. However, ordinary North Koreans see little tangible change in their daily lives and wonder where all these new products are actually going.

“Three administrative regions in North Pyongan province—the city of Kusong and the counties of Kunjang and Unsan—were selected last year for regional factory projects. Construction began quickly, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held for factories in Unsan county on March 7,” a source in the province told Daily NK recently.

“The government distributed sample products at the ceremony and has claimed the factories are running smoothly, but locals don’t feel much has changed.”

The Rodong Sinmun newspaper published several photographs alongside a story about the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new factories in Unsan county. The images show that factories producing food, clothing, and daily necessities are now operating in the county.

Notably, the Rodong Sinmun newspaper reported, “Attendees (at the ribbon cutting) shared how thrilled they were by the gratifying spectacle of products under the Unsan county brand rolling off the assembly line.”

In reality, however, the source said locals feel little has changed since the factories were built.

“They held a fancy ribbon-cutting ceremony, but nobody knows what’s happening to all those products rolling off the line,” one local said.

“We don’t need anything exotic or special. We just want a decent supply of soy sauce and doenjang (fermented soybean paste),” another local remarked, referring to some of the basic condiments in Korean cuisine.

“Contrary to people’s hopes, the products manufactured at the new factories are still being earmarked for priority customers including military units, ‘shock troops’ (construction teams), worker dormitories, and distribution centers. The only way locals can try these products for themselves is to buy them from employees who pocket some of the output,” the source said.

Additionally, staff at the newly built factories spend more time on side projects such as organizing events, maintaining hygiene, planting trees, and reinforcing ideology than on actual production work.

According to the source, this is how factories create the appearance of normal operations while actually minimizing production to make their raw materials last as long as possible.

“For the officials running these factories, showing that the factories are operational is more important than their actual output. As a result, officials maintain operations at an acceptable level with the raw materials they can acquire,” the source said.

“Workers are being mobilized for numerous social projects—including loyalty choir groups, national maintenance work, and tree planting—around the Day of the Shining Star (Feb. 16, birthday of Kim Jong Il) and Day of the Sun (April 15, birthday of Kim Il Sung). Later, large numbers of workers will likely be assigned to farm work to provide the factories with necessary raw supplies.”

The Rodong Sinmun newspaper published an article on March 24 about local delicacies being developed for the new factories. “Officials, technicians, and laborers at food factories in 20 cities and counties are making progress in developing and producing unique food products based on local ingredients, under the Party policy of ‘using mountains in mountainous areas and the sea by the seaside,'” the newspaper stated.

Despite the ongoing propaganda, the new regional factories have not made a noticeable difference in locals’ daily lives.

“Locals say it’s one thing to build new factories and another to source the raw materials needed to make doenjang, soy sauce, and cooking oil. To them, it seems like a tremendous amount of energy is being spent on building factories that, in the end, are just for show,” the source concluded.

Read in Korean

dailynk.com · by Seon Hwa · April 4, 2025

14. N. Korean students reject state university offers in favor of local education

What does this mean? Turning away from the Party? How can this be exploited?

Excerpts:

North Korea’s educational authorities are concerned about students declining enrollment in state-run universities, the source said. Apparently, the Hamhung College of Pharmacy is not the only school experiencing this trend.

“Given indications that young people are starting to view state-run universities as impractical, the Central Committee has ordered officials to investigate admission forfeiture rates at other state-run universities. The Central Committee views students’ decisions to avoid state-run schools as a prime example of young people prioritizing personal gain over honor,” the source concluded.

N. Korean students reject state university offers in favor of local education - Daily NK English

North Korea's educational authorities are concerned about students declining enrollment in state-run universities

By Eun Seol - April 4, 2025

dailynk.com · by Eun Seol · April 4, 2025

North Korean students walking. / Image: Sogwang

Thirty students accepted into the Hamhung College of Pharmacy, a prestigious state-run university in North Korea’s South Hamgyong province, declined to enroll this year. This trend suggests North Korean students increasingly prefer attending local universities closer to home rather than state-run universities with higher tuition in expensive areas.

“The academic affairs department of the Hamhung College of Pharmacy submitted a report about new student enrollment to the government on March 29. The report indicated that over 30 students who received acceptance notifications chose not to enroll. Most were students from outside South Hamgyong province,” a source in the province told Daily NK recently.

Daily NK has learned that the students who turned down slots at the Hamhung College of Pharmacy this year included eight from South Pyongan province, seven from Jagang province, five from North Pyongan province, and four from Pyongyang.

North Korea’s educational officials were reportedly shocked that over 30 students would decline the opportunity to attend a state-run university, long considered the dream of every ambitious North Korean student.

Competition is fierce at North Korea’s state-run universities, which select from a nationwide pool of students. Acceptance at such schools is reportedly limited to students with excellent academic records and reliable family backgrounds.

“In the past, students would have taken pride in acceptance at a state-run university and would have done whatever necessary to enroll, but the mood is different now. Students and parents seem to have decided that rather than enduring a six-year course at a college of pharmacy, it’s better to enroll in the pharmacy department of a provincial medical school closer to home,” the source said.

Fees are high at the six-year Hamhung College of Pharmacy, where students must personally cover the costs of their practicums. Additionally, many students from other regions often struggle to afford dormitory fees and daily living expenses.

In contrast, students attending pharmacy departments at provincial medical schools can complete their studies in just five years while earning the same credentials as graduates of six-year programs. This explains why students from other areas see little benefit in spending an extra year at the state-run institution.

However, the source said students who have been offered a spot at a state-run college of pharmacy cannot immediately gain admission to a pharmacy department at a provincial medical school.

“These students must take positions at ordinary factories or enterprises for a couple of years. Then, after receiving another university invitation, they can transfer to medical school,” the source explained.

North Korea’s educational authorities are concerned about students declining enrollment in state-run universities, the source said. Apparently, the Hamhung College of Pharmacy is not the only school experiencing this trend.

“Given indications that young people are starting to view state-run universities as impractical, the Central Committee has ordered officials to investigate admission forfeiture rates at other state-run universities. The Central Committee views students’ decisions to avoid state-run schools as a prime example of young people prioritizing personal gain over honor,” the source concluded.

Read in Korean

dailynk.com · by Eun Seol · April 4, 2025

15. Ruling party says it 'humbly accepts' Constitutional Court's decision to remove Yoon from office

Now get on with preparing for the snap election.

Ruling party says it 'humbly accepts' Constitutional Court's decision to remove Yoon from office | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Yi Wonju · April 4, 2025

SEOUL, April 4 (Yonhap) -- The ruling People Power Party (PPP) apologized Friday after the Constitutional Court decided to oust former President Yoon Suk Yeol, saying it "humbly accepts" the ruling.

"Though it is regrettable, the PPP solemnly accepts and humbly respects the Constitutional Court's decision," the PPP's interim leader, Kwon Young-se, said, shortly after the court's announcement.

Kwon said the PPP takes "full responsibility" for failing to fulfill its role as the ruling party, stressing that respecting the court's decision is "the way to uphold democracy and the rule of law."

He also voiced regret that the PPP failed to prevent what it called the main opposition Democratic Party's "political tyranny" in the opposition-controlled National Assembly.

In a unanimous vote, the Constitutional Court upheld Yoon's impeachment, removing him from office over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December.

Kwon Young-se, chief of the ruling People Power Party's emergency leadership committee, attends a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul on April 4, 2025, after the Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, removing him from office over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December. (Yonhap)

julesyi@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Yi Wonju · April 4, 2025

16. Ex-special warfare commander involved in martial law released on bail

Ex-special warfare commander involved in martial law released on bail | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · April 4, 2025

SEOUL, April 4 (Yonhap) -- A former special warfare commander who had been arrested over his alleged involvement in President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law bid was released on bail Friday, the defense ministry said.

The central region military court granted bail to Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-keun, the former chief of the Army Special Warfare Command, according to the ministry.

Kwak had requested bail to receive medical treatment in a March 26 court hearing, saying he has mostly acknowledged the charges raised against him and has no intention to destroy evidence or flee.

Kwak is accused of sending martial law troops to the National Assembly to prevent lawmakers from voting to reject Yoon's decree.

Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-keun (2nd from L), former head of the Army Special Warfare Command, is taken to a military tribunal in Seoul in this file photo from March 26, 2025, to attend a hearing of his trial over his alleged role in President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived imposition of martial law in December. (Yonhap)

mlee@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · April 4, 2025

17. Over 63 pct of S. Korean students view N. Korea with caution, animosity: poll

Intersting statistics. I am not yet sure how to interpret them.

Over 63 pct of S. Korean students view N. Korea with caution, animosity: poll | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Park Boram · April 4, 2025

SEOUL, April 4 (Yonhap) -- More than 6 out of 10 students from elementary to high schools in South Korea view North Korea as an adversary that warrants caution and animosity, a poll released by the unification ministry showed Friday.

In the poll, 48.2 percent of elementary to high school students responded that North Korea is an adversary that warrants caution, while another 15 percent said the country deserves animosity.

Only 27.8 percent responded North Korea is a partner for cooperation, while 6.5 percent viewed it as a country in need of assistance.

The unification ministry, along with the education ministry, surveyed 74,288 students from 775 elementary, middle and high schools across the country from Oct. 21-Nov. 15 to examine school education on unification issues.

In a similar survey in 2021, a combined 60.6 percent viewed North Korea as a country warranting cooperation or assistance, while only 34.8 percent saw it as an adversary requiring caution or animosity.

In last year's survey, 75.8 percent said the current inter-Korean relations were "not peaceful," while only 4.6 percent viewed them as peaceful.

Those who said unification is "necessary" reached 47.6 percent last year, down 13.6 percentage points from 2021, while those viewing it as "unnecessary" rose to 42.3 percent from 25 percent.

Eradicating the risk of war was the most frequently cited reason among those who said unification is necessary, while those opposed cited potential problems caused by unification as their main reason.

The poll has a 95 percent confidence level, with a margin of error of plus or minus 0.36 percentage point.

Tourists use telescopes to observe North Korea's North Hwanghae Province from an observation deck at Mount Odu in the South Korean city of Paju, in this file photo taken Jan. 4, 2024. (Yonhap)

pbr@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Park Boram · April 4, 2025

18. Seoul pledges $100M to Ukraine, cites North Korea-Russia ties as regional threat

South Korea remains a global pivotal state that contributes to the global good and continues to function despite the domestic political turmoil.

However, I do wonder about that number. I wonder if there is a math error between dollars and won because $100 million seems a little high for South Korea especially while the political turmoil is taking place.

Seoul pledges $100M to Ukraine, cites North Korea-Russia ties as regional threat

ROK’s top diplomat warned NATO ministers that Pyongyang must be stopped from acquiring military tech that threatens US

https://www.nknews.org/2025/04/seoul-pledges-100m-to-ukraine-cites-north-korea-russia-ties-as-regional-threat/

Anton Sokolin April 4, 2025

ROK foreign minister Cho Tae-yul during a NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels on April 3, 2025 | Image: ROK MOFA

South Korea will provide a $100 million assistance package to Ukraine with billions of dollars more in the pipeline, Seoul’s foreign ministry announced Thursday, as its top diplomat slammed Russia-North Korea military cooperation at a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting.

ROK Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul also met his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha on the sidelines of the NATO ministerial summit in Brussels, according to a social media post by Kyiv’s chief diplomat.

Joint efforts to “counter the deepening Russia-DPRK cooperation that threatens both of our regions” were a focal point of their discussion, alongside plans to strengthen bilateral ties, Sybiha stated.

ROK foreign minister Cho Tae-yul with his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha in Brussels on April 3, 2025 | Image: Andrii Sybiha via X

The most recent ROK aid package for Ukraine is humanitarian in nature, Seoul’s foreign ministry stated in a press release following Cho’s participation in the NATO summit, where the foreign ministers of Australia, Japan and New Zealand also directly addressed North Korea’s growing military alignment with Russia.

South Korea also pledged to support Ukraine’s reconstruction through NATO’s fund for non-lethal military supplies such as fuel, medicine and demining equipment, while offering Kyiv a $2 billion mid- to long-term assistance package over the next five years through its Economic Development Cooperation Fund.

The ROK foreign ministry noted that Seoul provided Ukraine with $150 million in 2022–2023 and $400 million in 2024 across multiple sectors, including energy, infrastructure, health care and education, with Seoul also supporting the establishment of a military rehabilitation center in the country last year.

The announcement came as NATO members ramped up their support for Ukraine, with recent contributions reaching over $22 billion in security assistance during the first three months of 2025, amid Europe’s bid to boost its military capabilities.

Cho reportedly stressed South Korea’s “willingness to contribute to strengthening Europe’s defense industrial capacity based on its advanced defense industry.”

Meanwhile, NATO chief Mark Rutte highlighted the interconnectedness of the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions, with the Ukraine war bringing them closer together, as he accused China, North Korea and Iran of supporting “Russia’s war machine” in his opening remarks to the extended ministerial meeting.

Cho also spotlighted North Korea’s ties with Russia, urging his partners to strengthen efforts to “halt the illegal military cooperation between Russia and North Korea,” calling it a source of “significant threats not only to European security but also to the Indo-Pacific.”

He further stressed that North Korea must be prevented from acquiring “advanced military technologies that would enable it to directly threaten the U.S. and potentially ‘decouple’ U.S. security commitments from its allies.”

In a one-on-one meeting with Rutte the previous day, Cho insisted that “North Korea must not receive any form of compensation for its wrongful actions during the end-of-war process,” noting that Russia-DPRK military cooperation remains active even amid the ongoing Ukraine peace efforts.

Cho’s statement echoed his earlier remarks about ensuring North Korea cannot garner concessions when the conflict ends after Pyongyang deployed nearly 12,000 troops to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine.

ROK foreign minister Cho Tae-yul with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on April 2, 2025 | Image: ROK MOFA

Seoul’s top diplomat additionally addressed the DPRK’s nuclear weapons program during his meeting with U.S. and Japanese counterparts Marco Rubio and Iwaya Takeshi on Thursday.

The three officials stated their “unwavering commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea” and agreed to maintain strong deterrence against the North while responding firmly to any provocations.

They also agreed to closely cooperate on DPRK-related issues, including the implementation of sanctions, responses to North Korea’s illicit cyber activities, its military cooperation with Russia and the protection of human rights in the country.

Cho’s European trip comes as U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing Ukraine and Russia to engage in a peace process to end ongoing hostilities, with infrastructure-related temporary ceasefire deals already in place.

Edited by Alannah Hill

19. ROK acting president warns North may exploit ‘turmoil’ following Yoon’s ouster

Too soon to tell. I have not seen anything from the Propaganda and Agitation Department yet. I am sure they are plotting and figuring out the best way to exploit the situation.

Of course the ROK and the ROK/US alliance could seize the initiative with some offensive psychological operations to inform the Korean people in the north what is happening and why democracy works despite its messiness.

We should remember that Art 21 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that all people have the right to self determination of government. That should be an easy theme to build on in an overt psychological operations campaign.

ROK acting president warns North may exploit ‘turmoil’ following Yoon’s ouster

Han Duck-soo called for South’s armed forces to maintain readiness in emergency meeting after impeachment was upheld

https://www.nknews.org/2025/04/rok-acting-president-warns-north-may-exploit-turmoil-following-yoons-ouster/

Anton Sokolin April 4, 2025

South Korean Prime Minister and Acting President Han Duck-soo during an emergency National Security Council meeting on April 4, 2025 | Image: ROK Prime Minister's Secretariat

South Korea’s acting president said North Korea may exploit the current “political turmoil” to stage provocations against the South, calling the country’s armed forces to maintain readiness amid the unfolding turbulence following the impeachment of former president Yoon Suk-yeol.

Han Duck-soo, who also faced impeachment but was reinstated in late March, convened an emergency meeting of the ROK National Security Council to address potential threats after the Constitutional Court unanimously upheld Yoon’s impeachment on Friday.

While acknowledging the court’s ruling and describing the outcome as grave, Han warned that the security situation facing the ROK is “more serious than ever,” according to his remarks at the start of the meeting.

He urged the council to “maintain an ironclad readiness posture” and promptly “respond to potential North Korean provocations and propaganda that may take advantage of this political turmoil.”

“In times like this, we must make every effort to safeguard the nation’s security and the lives and safety of our people,” he said.

Additionally, the acting head of state called on relevant authorities to “proactively respond to the impact of growing Russia-North Korea ties” on the ROK’s national security and to consistently “promote freedom and human rights for the North Korean people.”

The meeting came just a few hours after the Constitutional Court ruled that Yoon’s declaration of martial law in December, aimed at tackling pro-North Korean forces, was unconstitutional and illegal.

The country will now vote in a snap presidential election that will likely take place on or around June 3.

Meanwhile, ROK Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul held multiple rounds of talks with Western partners during a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels, announcing a $100 million humanitarian aid package for Ukraine and urging allies to respond to deepening military cooperation between the DPRK and Russia.

Edited by Alannah Hill

20. What Yoon Suk-yeol’s removal means for South Korea’s relationship with the North

Currently there are no north-South relations nor any nK-US relations. The future depends on the next president and the party in power: naive and dangerous engagement and appeasement versus freedom and human rights in the north and for all Korean people in a free and unified Korea.

What Yoon Suk-yeol’s removal means for South Korea’s relationship with the North

With his ouster, the future of inter-Korean relations hangs in the balance amid political chaos and security challenges

Shreyas Reddy April 4, 2025

https://www.nknews.org/2025/04/what-yoon-suk-yeols-removal-means-for-south-koreas-relationship-with-the-north/

Yoon Suk-yeol, with Kim Jong Un and a unification flag in the background | Images: ROK Presidential Office (Oct. 29, 2023) and Joint Inter-Korean Summit Press Corps (Sept. 18, 2018), edited by NK News

After a tumultuous three years in power, Yoon Suk-yeol has been removed as president of South Korea after the country’s Constitutional Court deemed that his declaration of martial law citing “pro-North” Korea elements in the opposition was not justified.

The impeached leader’s tenure was marked by an often confrontational approach to dealing with an increasingly militaristic North Korea, accelerating the deterioration of a relationship that had already stalled after Pyongyang walked away from engagement with both Seoul and Washington in 2019.

However, while Yoon’s removal may pave the way for a less hostile approach to North Korea, his impeachment also creates a temporary power vacuum and adds to political instability as South Korea heads toward a snap election that must be held by June 3.

The dismissal of the commander-in-chief and the diminishing trust in the military after Yoon’s martial law imposition also raise concerns about South Korea’s readiness to handle North Korean threats and the future of inter-Korean ties, in both the short and long term.

IMPACT ON INTER-KOREAN POLICIES

After his election, Yoon Suk-yeol took a very different approach to North Korea compared to his pro-engagement predecessor Moon Jae-in.

Yoon criticized Moon for prioritizing DPRK ties at the expense of other foreign relations and took a hardline approach to inter-Korean relations, which saw a return to classifying the DPRK as Seoul’s “main enemy” and a focus on spotlighting Pyongyang’s human rights abuses, alongside efforts to forge stronger relations with the U.S. and Japan to counter threats from the North.

While the conservative president did not entirely rule out dialogue and economic support, his strong rhetoric and self-proclaimed “audacious plan” for inter-Korean relations left little room for engagement unless Pyongyang completely abandoned its nuclear weapons program.

As North Korea ramped up military activity with missile tests and drone incursions, Yoon stepped up his own confrontational approach by pushing for capabilities to “hit back 100 times or 1,000 times [more strongly] when we are attacked.”

His new unification doctrine unveiled last year further showcased his opposition to the DPRK regime with policies that many experts viewed as an explicit push for “unification by absorption,” referring to a scenario in which South Korea completely takes over the North.

However, Yoon’s strong criticism of North Korean rights abuses and allocation of funds for related initiatives played an important role in drawing attention to this theme, and some advocates have previously expressed concerns that his ouster may adversely impact Seoul’s approach to human rights issues.

Following Yoon’s removal from office, the countdown has started for a presidential election that could lead to major changes in inter-Korean policy, particularly if Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party and current frontrunner in election polls, wins the presidency.

Lee Jae-myung stands with the Democratic Party flag after his re-election as party leader in Aug. 2024 | Image: Lee Jae-myung via Facebook

Unlike former progressive presidents, the pragmatic Lee has previously voiced skepticism about the goal of inter-Korean unification amid declining domestic support for the idea, but has also expressed his support for dialogue with Pyongyang amid speculation of renewed U.S.-DPRK talks after Donald Trump’s return to the White House earlier this year.

Benjamin Engel, a visiting professor at Dankook University, told NK News that if Lee wins the election, he may return to “seeking cooperation with North Korea and the pursuit of a permanent peace” through strategies reminiscent of the Moon administration and the Sunshine Policy of the 2000s, a period of friendly relations that saw two inter-Korean summits.

“Lee would probably try to broker renewed talks between Trump and Kim Jong Un although I’m not sure he’d be successful, at least immediately,” he added.

Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump shaking hands ahead of the first-ever U.S.-DPRK summit in Singapore | Image: Dan Scavino Jr. (June 12, 2018)

Irrespective of who wins the election, the Trump factor will likely ensure the next ROK administration avoids a confrontational approach to North Korea, according to Peter Ward, a research fellow at the Sejong Institute.

“The South Korean government will be very careful because they don’t want to get in the way of any diplomatic efforts underway in Washington,” he told NK News, adding that Seoul will prioritize its commitment to the U.S.-ROK alliance.

In the meantime, managing inter-Korean relations over the next two months will be an important topic for Acting President Han Duck-soo’s government.

While Han has repeatedly warned that Pyongyang could step up “provocations” against the South, the interim government is unlikely to match the extremes of Yoon’s anti-DPRK rhetoric ahead of the election, according to Engel.

“The ruling party is already in a very unfavorable electoral position and the interim government would not want to tarnish its image further by using saber rattling to influence the election,” he said.

HOLES IN SOUTH KOREA’S SECURITY

As South Korea braces for the aftermath of the impeachment ruling, concerns continue to mount over the military’s role in enforcing Yoon’s martial law, raising troubling questions about the integrity of the nation’s security apparatus.

The military’s involvement in the martial law appears to have eroded public trust in defense institutions, while its leadership has been severely depleted after numerous suspensions and resignations, leaving a massive void in Seoul’s security strategy.

Yoon’s last defense minister and close adviser Kim Yong-hyun appears to have played a pivotal role in enabling the marshaling of military resources to enforce martial law.

Unconfirmed allegations later emerged that he ordered the deployment of military drones to drop anti-regime leaflets over Pyongyang in October, raising concerns that he sought to provoke inter-Korean escalations to justify the eventual martial law declaration.

Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun during a visit to the ROK Marine Corps’ Second Division on Sep. 9, 2024 | Image: ROK Ministry of Defense

The police uncovered even more disturbing details pertaining to the martial law plans in a notebook belonging to a former defense intelligence chief with close links to Kim, which contained apparent plans to incite a clash near the inter-Korean maritime border and reportedly involve North Korea in efforts to assassinate Yoon’s opponents.

It remains unclear whether these plans were legitimate, but they have raised concerns about the apparent ease with which South Korean military resources could be misappropriated for political gain.

Kim resigned soon after the martial law fiasco, but the government has yet to appoint a permanent successor, leaving the top of the country’s security hierarchy vacant for the longest period in the country’s independent history.

The anticipated domestic instability in a deeply divided country after Friday’s verdict may also distract from challenges across the border, according to Engel.

“It’s always concerning when the military has to be responsible for keeping internal order because that distracts from their mission of securing South Korea from North Korea and other threats,” he said.

Despite the potential security gaps, Ward stated that Kim Jong Un is unlikely to do anything particularly dangerous in the next few months, with North Korea diverting much of its weapons and personnel to support Russia’s war against Ukraine.

THE VIEW FROM PYONGYANG

Despite Yoon’s attempts to frame his actions as a response to North Korea, Pyongyang has largely displayed a cautious approach to the recent political turmoil, focusing mostly on relatively factual reporting of the events in South Korea while mixing in insults to the conservative leader.

North Korean state media reported the Constitutional Court’s decision to uphold former President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment within two hours in 2017 and often castigated her in the lead-up to her ouster, but if its belated coverage of recent events is anything to go by, it may take a more circumspect approach to Yoon’s removal.

Moreover, Pyongyang largely halted more direct anti-South operations such as trash balloon launches after the martial law declaration, and Engel said it is unlikely to restart them and “potentially undermine the election of a more dovish Lee Jae-myung.”

Kim Jong Un during a ruling party plenum in 2023, when he rejected Pyongyang’s decades-old inter-Korean policies | Image: Rodong Sinmun (Dec. 31, 2023)

But regardless of who wins the election, Ward believes Seoul has little leverage over North Korea following Kim Jong Un’s decision in Dec. 2023 to abandon all engagement with South Korea, as well as other “adversarial” states like the U.S.

“The existence of South Korea is a threat to North Korea and North Korea’s world view increasingly, and dialogue is probably going to be counterproductive,” he added, referring to Pyongyang’s attempts to block South Korean content.

Despite Trump’s stated willingness to resume dialogue, Ward said Kim sees no value in engaging with either Washington or Seoul for the foreseeable future.

“There would be a need to offer him something quite substantial to get him to engage in dialogue with either South Korea or the United States, and I don’t think either the United States or South Korea are prepared to offer him the kinds of carrots that would be necessary,” he said.

Joon Ha Park contributed reporting to this article. Edited by Alannah Hill

21. Burnt allies: Japan, S Korea toe cautious line after Trump tariffs

Burnt allies: Japan, S Korea toe cautious line after Trump tariffs - Asia Times

Will America’s top Asian allies follow Europe’s lead in reassessing security relations with US in response to shock tariffs?

asiatimes.com · by Sebastian Maslow, Paul OShea · April 4, 2025

Two months into US President Donald Trump’s second term, the liberal international order is on life support.

Alliances and multilateral institutions are now seen by the United States as burdens. Europe and NATO are framed as bad business, “ripping off” the US. On his so-called “Liberation Day”, Trump also imposed 20% tariffs on all European Union imports.

The Trump administration has been far less critical of the US’ alliances in the Indo-Pacific region. On a visit to Tokyo this week, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described Japan as America’s “indispensable partner” in deterring Chinese aggression.

Yet, Japan and South Korea fared even worse than the EU with Trump’s new tariffs. Trump slapped Japan with 24% tariffs and South Korea 25%. (Both countries enjoy a trade surplus with the US.)

So, how are the US’ two main allies in the Indo-Pacific dealing with the mercurial US leader? Will they follow Europe’s lead in reassessing their own security relationships with the US?

Japan: a positive summit but concerns remain

America’s post-war security strategy in Asia differs from Europe. While NATO was built on the premise of collective defence among its members, the US adopted a “hub-and-spokes” model in Asia, relying on bilateral alliances to contain the spread of communism.

Japan and South Korea have long sheltered under the US nuclear umbrella and hosted major US military bases. Both are also highly sensitive to changes in the US’ Indo-Pacific policies.

Japan, in particular, has a long history of careful alliance management with the US, epitomised by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s courting of Trump.

During Trump’s first term in office, Abe’s policy goals aligned closely with the US: transforming Japan’s security posture to make it a serious military and diplomatic power. Japan increased military spending, lifted arms export restrictions and deepened ties with India and Australia.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida continued to raise Japan’s security profile from 2021-24, again increasing military spending and taking a tough line on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He emphasised “Europe today could be Asia tomorrow”.

His successor, Shigeru Ishiba, had a successful summit with Trump in February, immediately after his inauguration. The joint statement reaffirmed US security guarantees to Japan, including over the Senkaku Islands, which are claimed by China.

Japan also agreed to import American liquefied natural gas, and later committed to working with South Korea to develop a US$44 billion plan to export LNG from Alaska.

However, these positive developments do not mean the relationship is on firm ground.

In early March, Trump complained the US-Japan security agreement signed in 1960 was “one-sided” and a top administration official again called for Japan to increase its defence spending to 3% of gross domestic product (GDP) – a huge increase for a country facing serious demographic and fiscal pressures.

Reports also emerged the US was considering cancelling a new joint headquarters in Japan aimed at deeper integration between US and Japanese forces.

South Korea: extremely vulnerable on trade

South Korea faces similar pressures. Ties between the two countries were strained during Trump’s first term over his demand South Korea increase the amount it pays to host US forces by nearly 400%. A 2021 agreement restored some stability but left Seoul deeply worried about the future of the alliance.

Trump speaks to US troops stationed at Osan Air Base south of Seoul in 2019. Photo: Ed Jones / AFP pool / AP via The Conversation

South Korea’s acting president, Choi Sang-mok, has expressed a desire to strengthen ties with the US, though Trump has reportedly been cool to his advances.

With a $66 billion trade surplus with the US, South Korea is considered the country most vulnerable to trade risk with the Trump administration, according to a Swiss research group.

Trump’s past suggestions that both South Korea and Japan develop nuclear weapons or pay for US nuclear protection has also rattled some nerves. As confidence in the US alliance erodes, both countries are engaging in an urgent public debate about the possibility of acquiring nuclear weapons.

Tensions moving forward

Potential for conflict is on the horizon. For example, Tokyo and Washington are set to renegotiate the deal that dictates how much Japan pays to host US troops next year.

Both allies pay huge sums to host US bases. South Korea will pay $1.14 billion in 2026, and Japan pays $1.72 billion annually.

A trade war could also prompt a reassessment of the costs of US efforts to decouple from China, potentially leading to closer economic ties between Japan, South Korea and China. The three countries have agreed to accelerate talks on a trilateral free trade agreement, which had been on hold since 2019.

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Another challenge is semiconductors. Japan’s new semiconductor revitalisation strategy is prioritising domestic investment, raising questions about whether Trump will tolerate “friendshoring” if Japan diverts investments from the US.

In 2024, Japan outspent the US in semiconductor subsidies (as a share of GDP), while Taiwan’s TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, expanded its production capacity in Japan.

Seoul remains an important partner to Washington on semiconductors. Samsung and SK Hynix are both boosting their investments on new semiconductor plants in the US. However, there is now uncertainty over the subsidies promised to both companies to invest in America under the CHIPS Act.

Ultimately, the strength of these alliances depends on whether the Trump administration views them as long-term bulwarks against China’s rise in the region or merely vassals that can be extorted for financial gain.

If the US is serious about countering China, its regional alliances are key. This would give Japan and South Korea some degree of leverage – or, in Trump terms, they’ll hold valuable cards. Whether they get to play them, however, depends on what Trump’s China policy turns out to be.

Sebastian Maslow is associate professor of international relations, University of Tokyo and Paul O’Shea is senior lecturer, Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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asiatimes.com · by Sebastian Maslow, Paul OShea · April 4, 2025

22. U.S. reaffirms commitment to working with acting President Han, looks forward to future of 'close cooperation': State Dept.

U.S. reaffirms commitment to working with acting President Han, looks forward to future of 'close cooperation': State Dept. | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · April 4, 2025

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, April 4 (Yonhap) -- The United States reaffirmed its commitment Friday to working with South Korea's acting President Han Duck-soo for stability in the bilateral alliance until a successor to ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol is picked, the State Department said, underscoring its "ironclad" security commitment to the Asian ally.

"The United States is committed to working with acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, and the ROK government to ensure stability and continuity in the U.S.-ROK Alliance until a new president is elected," a State Department spokesperson said in response to a question from Yonhap News Agency. ROK is short for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.

"The United States looks forward to a future of close cooperation that brings security and prosperity to both our nations," the official added.

The spokesperson also reaffirmed the "enduring" strength of the two countries' alliance and the U.S.' "ironclad" commitment to the defense of South Korea.

"The United States respects the ROK's democratic institutions, its legal processes and the decision of the Constitutional Court," the official said.

The State Department in Washington, D.C. (Yonhap)

sshluck@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · April 4, 2025

De Oppresso Liber,

David Maxwell

Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy

Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation

Editor, Small Wars Journal

Twitter: @davidmaxwell161

Phone: 202-573-8647

email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com

De Oppresso Liber,

David Maxwell

Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy

Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation

Editor, Small Wars Journal

Twitter: @davidmaxwell161

email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com

If you do not read anything else in the 2017 National Security Strategy read this on page 14:

"A democracy is only as resilient as its people. An informed and engaged citizenry is the fundamental requirement for a free and resilient nation. For generations, our society has protected free press, free speech, and free thought. Today, actors such as Russia are using information tools in an attempt to undermine the legitimacy of democracies. Adversaries target media, political processes, financial networks, and personal data. The American public and private sectors must recognize this and work together to defend our way of life. No external threat can be allowed to shake our shared commitment to our values, undermine our system of government, or divide our Nation."

Access NSS HERE

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U.S. reaffirms commitment to working with acting President Han, looks forward to future of 'close cooperation': State Dept. | Yonhap News Agency