US defense chief drops South Korea visit after president's controversial move
US Defense Secretary cancels planned South Korea trip following presidents martial law declaration. The decision comes after consulting with Korean officials and widespread public protests
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
