Welcome to NHK Newsline. I'm Ramin Mellegard in Tokyo.
Investigative authorities in South Korea are expected to continue their probe into President Yoon Suk-yeol. This follows the National Assembly's vote to impeach him for declaring martial law. Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court will examine the legitimacy of that parliamentary decision.
I hereby declare that out of 300 votes, with 204 in favor, the motion has passed.
The motion needed agreement of 2/3 of the National Assembly to pass. The opposition was eight seats short, but at least 12 members of Yoon's own party voted in favour. After the vote, a defiant Yoon addressed the nation.
I will never give up. I take both the rebuke and the encouragement from the public to heart. I will do my best for the country until the very last moment.
With the written decision delivered to the presidential office on Saturday evening, Yoon was suspended from office and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo took over his duties. Yoon has expressed deep commitment to improving relations with Japan, raising some concern within the Japanese government about the impact his suspension might have on bilateral diplomacy. Japanese Defense Minister Nakatani Gen told reporters that South Korea is an important neighbor for Japan to work with in addressing various international challenges.
As the region's security situation grows more severe and complex, cooperation between Japan and South Korea, as well as their relations with the United States, remain important. The Constitutional Court will now decide within 180 days whether the president's impeachment was appropriate. Its judges are scheduled to meet on Monday to begin deliberations.
Now, meanwhile, the opposition camp has charged Yoon with the crime of internal insurrection and other charges related to his declaration of martial law. A search warrant issued to raid the presidential office reportedly specifies Yoon as a suspect. For possible insurrection charges, South Korea's Yonhap news agency says that authorities may launch a direct investigation into Yoon. Prime Minister Han has begun running state affairs as the acting president. He's held a phone conversation with U.S. President Joe Biden. South Korea's government has said Han stressed that his government will work to ensure that the alliance with the United States is maintained and developed. The White House said Biden expressed his appreciation for the resiliency of democracy in South Korea and reaffirmed the iron-clad commitment of the United States to the South Korean people.
And South Korea's largest opposition Democratic Party said on Sunday it will not seek to impeach Prime Minister Han at this time.
We decided that too many impeachments could lead to confusion in state affairs.
He also proposed setting up a national consultative body. This would allow the parliament and the government to work together to stabilize the situation.
Now, CBS News has said U.S. president-elect Donald Trump is likely to pick George Glass as U.S. ambassador to Japan. The report on Saturday quoted sources familiar with the deliberations.
Glass criticized China's deepening involvement in Portugal's. Strategic sectors during his time as ambassador there. This included telecom giant Huawei Technologies cooperation in developing Portugal's communications networks. Now, Trump says he's tapped his aide Richard Grenell to be a presidential envoy for special missions. The president-elect said in a social media post on Saturday that Grenell will work on some of the hottest spots around the world, including Venezuela and North Korea. Grennell served as spokesperson at the US mission to the United Nations under the George W Bush administration. He also served as US ambassador to Germany and acting director of national intelligence during Trump's first term.
Glass has been a major fundraiser for Trump. He served as ambassador to Portugal during his first presidency.
And the parliament in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia has selected the country'sa new president, a ruling party candidate critical of the West.
President-elect Mikhail Kavelashvili is a former professional soccer player.
The vote took place Saturday amid demonstrations that started after the ruling Georgian Dream Party suspended talks on joining the European Union. The pro-Western opposition says there were electoral violations in the October election. It didn't nominate a presidential candidate and boycotted the vote. Prime Minister Ilakli Kobahidze won another term in October, then announced in November that talks on joining the EU would be halted.
Protesters demanding membership in the EU gathered around the parliament to express their opposition to the selection of Kavelashvili.
I think that, like, it will be, like, disaster for our country.
Now, incumbent President Salome Zurabitvili supports EU membership.
She does not accept the results of the vote and says she will stay on in the position after her term expires in the middle of this month. There are fears the turmoil in Georgia will only grow in the lead up to the inauguration on December 29.
Now the head of a group leading Syria's newly formed interim government has said he will reassess relations with Russia and Iran, both former supporters of the regime of ousted President Bashar al-Assad.
Syrian media reported the remarks by Abu Mohammed al Jalani, the leader of the Hayat Tahrir al Sham group, on Saturday.
Insurgent groups in Syria formed an interim government under the leadership of Golani's group after forcing the collapse of the despotic Assad regime on December 8. Golani stressed that the interim government will take a cautious stance regarding Russia for the time being. He said the new Syrian leadership gave Russia an opportunity to reassess their relationship in a way that serves the interests of both countries. Russia has reportedly been moving military supplies out of its bases in Syria.
All eyes are now on Russia to see how it responds to the latest situation in Syria. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with the foreign ministers of Turkey and other relevant countries to discuss the situation in Syria. After the meeting, he told reporters that he had already made direct contact with the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, which the U.S. has designated a terrorist organization. Attention is now focused on how the U.S. government will deal with the interim government led by the group.
The United Kingdom has formally joined a key trade pact centered on the Asia-Pacific region. This expands the bloc's sphere to Europe. The UK's membership has been formalized in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP. A protocol on the pact came into effect Sunday to include the country as its 12th member. The UK is the first country to join since the pact was founded in 2018 by 11 signatories, including Japan, Australia, Singapore and Canada. The members have a combined population of about 580 million and a total GDP of around $14.7 trillion, or about 15% of the global figure. British whiskey and other products will no longer be subject to tariffs. When exported to Malaysia, with which the UK didn't have a free trade agreement. Now tariffs will also end on Japanese exports to the UK of rice and flour and rice and rice flour, as well as tires for construction vehicles. the US president-elect Donald Trump. We'll take office next month with a pledge to impose tariffs on imports from all countries. Japan will face the challenge of realizing growth by relying on free trade frameworks, including the CPTPP.
And those are the top stories for this hour.
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And that's a wrap for this edition of NHK Newsline. I'm Ramin Mellegard. Thank you very much for
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