Technocrat Han Duck-soo Becomes South Korea’s Acting President After Impeachment |
South Korea’s Constitutional Court opened its review today of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s Saturday impeachment over his December 3 martial law declaration. His impeachment elevated the career technocrat Han Duck-soo from prime minister to acting president. Han spoke with U.S. President Joe Biden yesterday to affirm the U.S.-South Korea alliance as part of efforts to reassure allies and financial markets following the recent political turbulence. Yoon had strengthened the trilateral security relationship between South Korea, Japan, and the United States; on Saturday Japan’s defense minister said that trilateral cooperation was important given the “severe” regional security environment.
Yoon’s future remains uncertain, with a criminal inquiry into whether he committed insurrection moving forward. The leader of his ruling Democratic Peoples’ Party stepped down over the weekend. Han is a rare official in Seoul who has worked across political party lines in his career, and South Korea’s opposition party said it would not seek his ouster for any alleged links to the martial law decision. He convened his cabinet and pledged to maintain military readiness to prevent any national security breaches. (Reuters, VOA, Yomiuri Shimbun)
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“The martial law declaration starkly contradicted South Korea’s aspirations for value-based diplomacy—a vision prominently articulated through recent global engagements, including hosting the 2024 Summit for Democracy. This misstep has consequently strained relationships in Washington and other critical global capitals, potentially undermining years of careful diplomatic positioning,” The Pacific Forum’s Jinwan Park writes for the Asia Unbound blog.
“If, as seems likely, the [opposition] Democratic Party regains power, South Korea’s foreign policy seems poised to shift toward appeasement of North Korea, deference to China, hostility toward Japan, and skepticism of the United States,” the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Danny Russel tells the New York Times.
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UK Becomes First European Country to Join Pacific Trade Pact |
The United Kingdom (UK) became the twelfth member and the first European one of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership yesterday. It marks Britain’s largest trade deal following its break from the European Union. Members of the pact currently account for around 15 percent of the global gross domestic product. (AFP, DPA)
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India, Sri Lanka Plan Joint Electricity, Petroleum Projects |
Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake made his first foreign trip since assuming office to India today, where he discussed joint investment projects with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He thanked India for its support during Sri Lanka’s financial crisis and said that Sri Lanka would not permit activities harmful to India on its territory. (AP, Indian Express)
Myanmar: The junta has detained and otherwise pressured aid workers and researchers in an effort to discourage them from releasing information about the country’s hunger crisis, a Reuters investigation found. In recent weeks the leading hunger watchdog the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) removed Myanmar from its list of world hunger designations. The junta did not comment. (Reuters)
CFR’s Global Conflict Tracker details the challenges Myanmar has faced under war and junta rule.
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Middle East and North Africa |
Hezbollah, Russia Show Signs Capabilities Diminished in Syria |
Hezbollah’s leader acknowledged the group lost a military supply route from Iran through Syria in his first public comments since the fall of Syria’s leader, Bashar al-Assad. Following Assad’s upheaval, Russia has also evacuated at least four hundred troops from Damascus, an official from the Syrian rebel group that helped coordinate the withdrawal said. (WSJ, FT)
CFR expert Bruce Hoffman explains what to know about Hezbollah’s activities in Syria.
Algeria/France: The French government denied it was involved in any plot to destabilize Algeria after Algiers summoned the French ambassador under that allegation. In July, tensions flared between the two countries after France recognized Moroccan sovereignty over the breakaway Western Sahara region. Algeria’s foreign ministry did not comment. (Bloomberg)
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West African Bloc Gives Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger Six-Month Grace Period Before Exit
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Leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) agreed yesterday on the extension of the three junta-led governments’ impending departure as an effort to try to convince them to reverse course. The exit had been previously set for January 29. (Reuters) CFR expert Ebenezer Obadare looks at reimagining ECOWAS as the trio’s split looms.
Angola/DRC/Rwanda: Angola-mediated peace talks between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda scheduled for yesterday were unexpectedly canceled. The Congolese presidency said it refused a Rwandan demand for direct dialogue with M23 rebels as a condition for signing a peace deal. (AP)
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Germany’s Scholz Faces Confidence Vote |
Chancellor Olaf Scholz faces a confidence vote in the German parliament today following the collapse of his coalition. A loss in the vote is expected to lead to snap elections on February 23. (DW)
Russia: The authorities who detained U.S. reporter Evan Gershkovich in 2023 were linked to a secretive Russian agency called the Department for Counterintelligence Operations, the Wall Street Journal reported. The agency accelerated orders to arrest Americans after it was instructed to secure the release of a Russian hit man from Germany. Neither the Kremlin nor Russia’s Federal Security Service responded to a request for comment. (WSJ)
In this YouTube Short, Miriam Elder unpacks how the Kremlin influences Western reporting on Russia. |
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Brazilian Police Arrest Former Defense Minister in Probe of Coup Plot |
Authorities detained General Walter Braga Netto, a former general, defense minister, and chief of staff to then President Jair Bolsonaro, as part of a probe into an alleged plot to carry out a coup when Bolsonaro lost Brazil’s 2022 presidential election. Police said Braga Netto aimed to interfere with the investigation, which his lawyers denied. (AP, Reuters)
Cuba: Cubans have experienced fuel shortages across the island in recent days, which come after several nationwide blackouts. Longtime ally Venezuela reduced its fuel shipments to Cuba this year, while Mexico made up for some but not all of the difference. (Reuters)
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Trump Taps Grenell, Nunes For Security Posts |
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said he plans to appoint his former acting intelligence leader Richard Grenell as presidential envoy for special missions, including in Venezuela and North Korea. He tapped former California Republican congressman Devin Nunes, who runs the company that oversees Trump’s Truth Social platform, to oversee the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board. (WaPo)
In Foreign Affairs, Senator Mitch McConnell writes on the international threats facing the Trump administration and the need to reject isolationism. |
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