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The US welcomes Seoul's decision to lift the state of emergency

2024-12-04 09:24:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that he welcomes the decision by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to reverse the decision to declare a state of emergency in the country.

"We continue to expect political disputes to be resolved peacefully and in accordance with the rule of law," Secretary Blinken said in a statement late Tuesday.

Washington is following "with deep concern" the situation in South Korea

US officials earlier said they were following "with deep concern" the situation in South Korea, where President Yoon Suk Yeol declared a state of emergency late Tuesday, citing the need to defend the country from North Korean communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements.

Hours later, Mr. Yoon lifted the state of emergency after South Korean lawmakers voted against his decision and protesters gathered outside parliament.

Surprised, US officials are actively engaging with their South Korean counterparts in Washington and Seoul, gathering facts and assessing the situation on the ground.

"We were not notified in advance of President Yoon's decision," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told a news conference on Tuesday.

"I have no assessment of the threat from North Korea in the context of this situation," Mr. Patel told VOA when asked if the United States had received information about specific threats in the past 24 hours from North Korea.

Meanwhile, the United States Embassy in Seoul announced the cancellation of regular consular appointments with American citizens and visa applicants on Wednesday.

The embassy also urged American citizens in South Korea to follow local news, official guidelines, avoid areas where protests are taking place, and exercise caution near large gatherings or protests, as even peaceful protests can escalate suddenly.

US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said earlier on Tuesday that the United States is following "with deep concern" developments in South Korea and hopes and expects that "any political disputes will be resolved peacefully and in accordance with the regime of the law".

President Joe Biden, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have been briefed on developments in Seoul, according to Mr. Campbell.

President Biden was briefed on the latest developments in South Korea as he drove to his hotel in Luanda, the capital of Angola. He is on his first trip to Africa as president.

At the Pentagon, spokesman Patrick Ryder told reporters during a press conference that he did not believe the emergency declaration would significantly affect the roughly 28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea.

Mr Ryder added that the militaries of the two allied countries were "in contact", but there had been no request for help from Seoul.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared a state of emergency late Tuesday, vowing to eliminate "anti-state" forces as he battles an opposition that controls the country's parliament, accusing it of sympathizing with South Korea. Communist North.

Less than three hours later, parliament voted against declaring a state of emergency. The speaker of the South Korean Parliament, Woo Won Shik, after the vote, declared "invalid" the decision on the state of emergency and emphasized that the lawmakers "will protect democracy together with the people".

President Yoon had earlier said that the opposition parties had hijacked the parliamentary process. He vowed to root out "shameless pro-North Korean anti-state forces" and said he had no choice but to take the measure to protect the constitutional order./VOA