U.S. 'relieved' by end of martial law in South Korea: White House

Home > National > Diplomacy

U.S. 'relieved' by end of martial law in South Korea: White House

Published: 04 Dec. 2024, 10:15 Updated: 04 Dec. 2024, 14:33

MICHAEL LEE
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

U.S. Defense Department spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder speaks during a press briefing at the Pentagon on Tuesday in Washington. [AP/YONHAP]

WASHINGTON — The United States is “relieved” that South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol backtracked on his “concerning” decision to declare emergency martial law, a White House National Security Council spokesperson said in Washington on Tuesday.

“We are relieved President Yoon has reversed course on his concerning declaration of martial law and respected the ROK National Assembly’s vote to end it,” the spokesperson said in an unattributed statement, referring to South Korea by the acronym for its official name, the Republic of Korea.

The spokesperson also emphasized that “democracy is at the foundation of the U.S.-ROK alliance” and added Washington “will continue to monitor the situation.”

Yoon’s declaration of martial law appeared to take Washington officials by surprise and set off a flurry of questions from reporters regarding the state of the South Korea-U.S. alliance at press briefings held by the State Department and Pentagon on Tuesday.

In the the American capital, where the short-lived overnight imposition of martial law in South Korea played out in daytime hours, officials assured reporters the bilateral relationship between Seoul and Washington remained “ironclad” even as they appeared to walk a tightrope between defending the alliance and encouraging Yoon to respect the National Assembly vote.

In his comments before the South Korean president reversed course, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said Washington hopes “any political disputes will be resolved peacefully and in accordance with the rule of law,” but also expressed “grave concern” over the imposition of martial law.

Campbell said U.S. officials had reached out to their South Korean counterparts regarding the incident and noted that U.S. President Joe Biden, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken were being updated regarding developments in South Korea.

At a press briefing held the same day, U.S. State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said it is Washington’s “hope and expectation that the laws and regulations of a particular country are abided by that particular country,” in response to a question about whether the U.S. government wanted to see martial law lifted in accordance with the National Assembly vote.

“Ultimately, we want to see these political disputes resolved peacefully and in accordance with the rule of law,” Patel said, adding that “a vote in the legislature would be consistent with that approach.”

At a separate briefing at the Pentagon held the same day, Defense Department spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters that the United States “was not notified in advance” about Yoon’s earlier decision in response to a question about whether United States Forces Korea was contacted by the South Korean military that their forces might be engaged in some kind of enforcement of martial law.

Ryder told reporters at the press briefing that the imposition of martial law had “essentially no impact on U.S. forces” or their readiness posture.

He also said that the Pentagon is “not aware of any force posture changes” in response to a question about whether there are any indications that North Korea is trying or willing to take advantage of the situation in the South.

BY MICHAEL LEE [[email protected]]