South Korean lawmakers are arranging to vote on a motion to impeach the country's president. It's in response to Yoon Suk-yeol's controversial declaration of martial law this week, something he was quickly forced to rescind. His ruling party says it will vote against impeachment. The largest opposition Democratic Party says it's planning a plenary session for the vote Saturday evening, though the timing could still change. The opposition does not have the more than two-thirds of parliamentary seats needed to pass the motion. The Democratic Party says it will give ruling party lawmakers time to think carefully about what decision they want to make. The leader of Yoon's People Power Party says members do not defend Yoon's use of martial law.
Still, Han Dong-foon says the party will not vote to impeach him to avoid confusion. Instead, he's urging Yoon to leave the group and says Yoon's actions are inconsistent with the party's spirit of liberal democracy. Several high-ranking officials have announced they are stepping down. Yoon accepted the resignation of Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun Thursday. Kim reportedly had deployed the military to parliament. He apologized and said he feels responsible for what happened.
People are organizing a candlelight vigil at a public square in Seoul Thursday evening. Earlier, I spoke with NHK World's Kim Chan-joo, who was at the site.
What are organizers hoping to convey with the gathering?
They say they will demand Yoon resign. They say they're angry about Yoon's sudden declaration of martial law.
Thousands are expected to join in, including civic and labor groups.
And they're scheduled to march down to the presidential office. Well, this area, Gwanghwamun Square, was also the site of another protest Wednesday evening. 10,000 people attended that one. More candlelight vigils are in the works, with many more people expected to participate in them over the weekend.
Now, getting back to the opposition parties. They are apparently taking some unusual steps in response to all this political chaos. What can you tell us about that?
Some members of parliament, including the Speaker of the National Assembly, say they are not leaving the building. They say they are concerned Yun will rebel by declaring martial law a second time and have military troops break into parliament again. That speaks to how many are feeling in the country. There's this big sense of uncertainty and people really want to return to normal.
I also spoke with our senior international correspondent Aoki Yoshiyuki. He's a former NHK Seoul Bureau chief.
So, Yoshiuki, the ruling party criticized the president's attempt to invoke martial law, yet they will not vote to impeach him. Why?
They're worried about history repeating itself. The former president, Park Geun-hye, was impeached in 2016. The The party lost the next presidential election. The party doesn't want that to happen again. But one senior lawmaker broke rank Thursday, saying the president should be impeached. The motion will pass if just eight ruling party lawmakers vote for it. A poll released on Thursday found that 74% of respondents think President Yoon needs to be impeached. The Democratic Party scheduled the vote for Saturday, so the ruling party members have some time to think. So everyone is waiting to see what they will do next.
Meanwhile, Yoon hasn't been seen since he repealed martial law Wednesday morning. What do you think is going through his mind right now?
Of course, every South Korean citizen is wondering the same thing. I imagine he's thinking about what he could do to try and ease tensions in the country. The biggest mystery is still why you made a decision to announce the martial law. According to local media, he spoke to ruling party executives after the fact. He said he needed to do it to send a warning to the opposition parties.
He accused them of anti-state activities, plotting rebellion. Some major outlets are even reporting he doesn't think he made the the wrong choice. There are still, Erika, so many questions about what happened, and I doubt we'll get any answers unless the president addresses the nation again.
The Prime Minister of Sweden was in Tokyo this week to sign a strategic partnership between the two countries. It is seemingly an attempt to counter Beijing's pushes, especially in the East and South China Seas.
Ulf Kristersson met Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru on Wednesday. Ishiba said Sweden's membership in NATO drew a lot of attention in Japan. He said he hopes to deepen security cooperation with Stockholm. Kristersson said the two countries have a strong relationship. He also thanked Japan for its continuing support for Ukraine.
The two leaders discussed the war, including the partnership between Russia and North Korea. In an exclusive interview with NHK, the Swedish Prime Minister stressed that European countries should be more actively involved in the Indo-Pacific. He expressed concern over Beijing's actions in Asia and abroad.
I would not like to see a Chinese development where they, like the Russians, think of themselves as having a a sphere of interest where they could dominate smaller countries in their neighborhood.
He said he also hopes Sweden and Japan can deepen their economic relationship, saying they have similar strengths. We are in the forefront of sustainability, innovation, so I think there are quite a few similarities between the two countries that we actually can can make more out of actually.
Kristersson pointed out how China and North Korea are both assisting Russia's invasion. He stressed that democracies like Sweden and Japan also need to work together.
I think that democracies around the world should be very collaborative and useand well joint forces basically.
Foreign ministers from NATO member states have affirmed they will speed up providing Ukraine with ammunition and air defense systems as Russia's offensive intensifies. The ministers wrapped up their two-day meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday. Secretary-General Mark Rutte told reporters that increasing ties between Russia, China, North Korea and Iran highlight the global nature of existing threats.
We must do more than just keep Ukraine in the fight. We must provide enough support to change the trajectory of this conflict once and for all.
The ministers reportedly saw no progress on starting formal procedures for Ukraine to join NATO. The alliance's member states have agreed to raise their defense spending to two percent of GDP.
But Rutte said two percent is simply not enough and more is needed to keep longer-term deterrence at its current level. His remarks come as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has been pushing European nations to shoulder more of NATO's costs.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has named Peter Navarro a hardliner on China as senior counselor for trade and manufacturing in his incoming administration.
Navarro served as White House Trade Advisor during Trump's first term.
He and former U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer steered the country toward protectionism on the grounds of safeguarding manufacturing and employment. Navarro was imprisoned for contempt of Congress after refusing to appear for a deposition before a House committee investigating the Capitol riots of January 2021. After his release in July, he spoke at the Republican National Convention in support of Trump and was warmly received.
Trump wrote on social media on Wednesday that during his first term, few were more effective or tenacious than Peter in enforcing my two sacred rules: Buy American, Hire American.
NHK interviewed Navarro in October and asked about exceptions for trade policies, given that Japan is an ally.
If you start handing out exceptions, then it all falls apart. We will never punish another country using trade. We only seek a fair and level playing field.
Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo say nearly 80 people have died in recent weeks from a disease of unknown origin. They say most were in their late teens. Officials say the disease has been spreading in the southwest for about a month and a half.
They say the symptoms are like flu, including fever, headache, runny nose, coughing, difficulty breathing, and anemia. They've confirmed 376 cases, and they say 79 of those people have died. The government is working with the World Health Organization to investigate the cause. It has sent a team of experts to the affected region. Health officials are urging residents to take basic preventive measures such as avoiding crowded places and washing their hands with soap.
It's now time to check the weather. December kicked off with heavy snow in some parts of Japan. Our meteorologist Yumi Hirano has the details.
Moving to North America, strong low pressure and connecting fronts are bringing severe conditions in the east. Heavy downpours are possible along the Gulf Coast with risks of floods and landslides. The developing storm system in the north is bringing heavy snow and strong winds over the U.S.-Canada border, leading to traffic disruptions.
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