Lloyd Austin wont make his planned trip to South Korea - a decision that comes right after the countrys recent political shake-up. Two high-ranking US officials (who chose to stay unnamed) shared this info with Reuters on dec 5th
The trip cancellation follows President Yoon Suk Yeolʼs unexpected martial-law announcement: a far-reaching move that puts strict limits on peoples rights. The declaration which happened on tuesday includes several hard-to-swallow rules:
- No political gatherings allowed
- Media content under strict control
- Basic rights temporarily suspended
The timing of this change-of-plans isnt random - Austin will step down from his position when Donald Trump takes over the presidents seat on jan 20th. The defense chiefs team made sure to keep South Korean officials in-the-loop about the cancelled visit
South Koreas streets have turned into spots of public anger‚ with citizens showing their disagreement with Yoonʼs decision. The whole situation led to a quick shake-up in the government - the defense minister who backed this martial-law idea had no choice but to quit his job
The US-South Korea relationship - which has been super-stable for decades - now faces an unexpected bump; however both sides keep talking to each other to handle this tricky moment