Blinken ByeBye Pie in Seoul, Tokyo et Paris
Blinken to visit South Korea during political turmoil. President Yoon Suk Yeol scandal, Presidential guard fight arresting police. Japan's foreign defense aid to rise 60% in FY 2025
Blinken heads to South Korea, Japan, France one last time
Antony Blinken will travel to South Korea, Japan and France in what will likely be his last overseas mission as the top US diplomat.
The US top diplomat will visit South Korea at a time of political turmoil in the country. In the latest development there, a standoff between investigators and suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol's team prevented investigators from arresting Yoon.
Blinken to meet with his South Korean counterpart
Blinken will meet with his counterpart Cho Tae-yul on Monday, Seoul's foreign ministry said in a statement, to discuss the "South Korea-US alliance, South Korea-US-Japan cooperation, North Korea issues, and regional and global challenges."
The State Department statement also makes no direct mention of the current political turmoil in Seoul, saying Blinken will speak about "ways our two nations can build on our critical cooperation on challenges around the world based on our shared values."
South Korea has been mired in a political crisis ever since Yoon briefly declared martial law on December 3 and sent soldiers to parliament. He has been under investigation on allegations of abuse of power and inciting an insurrection.
Investigators probing Yoon's declaration of martial law attempted to enforce a warrant for his arrest on Friday but were thwarted by presidential security guards.
That warrant expires on January 6, the same day Blinken plans to meet Cho.
Blinken in Japan, France
In Japan, Blinken will meet senior Japanese government officials to review the "tremendous progress" between the two nations.
The US and Japan have forged closer defense ties over the years, as both countries share similar concerns including what they describe as countering Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific.
Blinken will wrap up his trip in Paris in meetings with French officials to discuss developments in the Middle East and European security, particularly in Ukraine.
mk/rm (AP, AFP, Reuters)
https://www.dw.com/en/blinken-heads-to-south-korea-japan-france-one-last-time/a-71214458
Why are Yoon’s supporters waving American flags?
SEOUL - As South Korea’s president Yoon Suk Yeol faced arrest on the morning of Jan 3 following his failed martial law attempt a month earlier, protesters rallying in his support drew global attention -- not just for their fiery chants, but for their prominent display of the American stars and stripes alongside South Korea’s Taegeukgi.
As perplexing it may be to some, to many conservative supporters in South Korea the American flag has long served as a powerful emblem of anti-communism and the country’s enduring alliance with its main security partner.
A woman in her 60s, who identified herself as Ahn Young-mi, stood near a police barricade waving both the Korean and American flags. She said the flags represent the Korea-US alliance, as she expressed her hope that “the US or Trump will come and save Yoon Suk Yeol”.
Elsewhere in the crowd, a man who wished to remain anonymous handed out both miniature American and Korean flags, saying that displaying them together “signifies the alliance” and gives protesters a sense of greater strength.
On a makeshift stage, speakers led crowds in cries of “Trump manse!” - an expression of praise for the US president-elect, who some believe could intervene in South Korean affairs to the president’s benefit.
Historical roots of alliance
To understand why such displays persist -- and why they are particularly visible at far-right or deeply conservative rallies - it helps to look back at how the US became entwined with South Korea’s national identity.
In the 1950-53 Korean War, the US was instrumental in helping the South repel the spread of communism from the North. For many older conservatives, that era defined the US as a champion of freedom.
Through successive decades of military and economic cooperation, the US fortified its image as both an indispensable ally and an almost symbolic guardian of South Korea’s security.
Consequently, when conservative factions rally, they often juxtapose the Korean flag with the American flag to underline their commitment to a robust US partnership.
Flag as a political statement
The prominence of the American flag also reflects a lingering Cold War mindset among some in South Korea’s far-right circles.
For them, anti-communism remains a central ideology, and the stars and stripes has become shorthand for countering perceived threats from North Korea and its allies.
This practice resurfaced during past political upheavals as well, notably in 2016–17 when protesters opposing the impeachment of then-President Park Geun-hye waved similar flag pairings.
Their message was clear: support for a staunchly conservative, pro-US direction and rejection of what they deem left-leaning or pro-Pyongyang elements in domestic politics.
Now, with Yoon facing impeachment and insurrection charges after his failed Dec 3 martial law decree, die-hard supporters have revived these symbolic gestures.
Many of them have described Yoon as a defender of “true freedom” against both domestic and foreign hostile forces.
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/why-are-yoons-supporters-waving-american-flags
S Korea Troops Prevent Arrest Of Yoon After Tense Stand-Off
By MENAFN (Gulf Times - Amended)
South Korea's presidential guards and military troops prevented authorities from arresting impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday in a tense six-hour stand-off inside Yoon's compound in the heart of Seoul.
Some 200 presidential guards, troops clash with investigators
Arrest attempt suspended due to safety concerns - agency
Arrest warrant viable until Jan 6
North Korean state media published a detailed report on the political turmoil in the South, including the arrest warrant issued for Yoon, who it said“stubbornly refuses to be investigated, totally denying his crimes with sheer lies”. North Korea has been harshly critical of Yoon, citing his hardline policy against Pyongyang as grounds in declaring the South a“primary foe” and announcing it had abandoned unification as a national goal.
Yoon is under criminal investigation for insurrection over his Dec 3 martial law bid that stunned South Korea and led to the first arrest warrant to be issued for a sitting president.“It was judged that it was virtually impossible to execute the arrest warrant due to the ongoing stand-off,” the corruptionInvestigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) said in a statement.
CIO officials and police evaded hundreds of Yoon supporters who gathered in pre-dawn hours near his residence on Friday, who adopted the“Stop the Steal” slogans popularised by US President-elect Donald Trump's supporters, to block the arrest.
Officials from the CIO, which is leading a joint team of investigators, arrived at the gates of the presidential compound shortly after 7am and entered on foot. Once inside the compound, the CIO and police were outnumbered by cordons of Presidential Security Service (PSS) personnel, as well as troops seconded to presidential security, a CIO official told reporters. More than 200 PSS agents and soldiers blocked the CIO officers and police, he added. While there were altercations and PSS agents appeared to be carrying firearms, no weapons were drawn, he said.
Yoon, who has been isolated since he was impeached and suspended from power on Dec 14, was not seen during the stand-off, he said. South Korea's defence ministry said the troops involved were under the control of the PSS.
The CIO called off the effort to arrest Yoon around 1:30pm due to concerns over the safety of its personnel, and said it“deeply regretted” Yoon's non-compliance.
The CIO said it would consider its next steps. The police, who are part of the joint investigation team, have designated the PSS chief and the deputy as suspects in a criminal case for obstruction of official duty and issued summons for them to appear for questioning on Saturday, Yonhap news reported.
Insurrection is one of the few criminal charges from which a South Korean president does not have immunity. Yoon's arrest warrant, approved by a court on Tuesday after he ignored multiple summons to appear for questioning, is viable until Jan. 6. In a statement after the arrest effort was suspended, Yoon's legal team said the CIO had no authority to investigate insurrection and it was regrettable that it had tried to execute an illegal warrant in a sensitive security area.
The statement warned police against supporting the arrest effort. The presidential office filed a criminal complaint against three broadcasters and YouTube channel owners for unauthorised filming of the presidential residence, which it said was“a secured facility directly linked to national security”.
The current warrant gives investigators only 48 hours to hold Yoon after he is arrested. Investigators must then decide whether to request a detention warrant or release him. Kim Seon-taek, a Korea University law professor, said targeting the PSS leadership may allow the investigators to sap the service's ability to put up resistance so they can try again to execute the warrant, which is“a rough way” to proceed. A better way, he said, would be for acting President Choi Sang-mok to exercise his power to order the PSS to cooperate. Later on Friday, the CIO said it would ask Choi to give that order. Choi's office issued no comment on the arrest attempt.
Yoon sent shockwaves through Asia's fourth-largest economy and one of the region's most vibrant democracies with his late-night announcement on Dec 3 that he was imposing martial law to overcome political deadlock and root out“anti-state forces”. Within hours, however, 190 lawmakers had defied the cordons of troops and police to vote against Yoon's order. About six hours after his initial decree, Yoon rescinded it.
He later issued a defiant defence of his decision, saying domestic political opponents were sympathetic to North Korea and citing uncorroborated claims of election tampering.
Two South Korean military officials, including the martial law commander during the short-lived declaration, have been indicted on insurrection charges, Yonhap reported on Friday. Kim Yong-hyun, who resigned as Yoon's defence minister after playing a major role in the martial law decree, has been detained and was indicted last week on charges of insurrection and abuse of power.
Separate from the criminal investigation, Yoon's impeachment case is before the Constitutional Court to decide whether to reinstate or permanently remove him. A second hearing in that case was held on Friday and the court set the first oral arguments for Jan 14.
Yoon's defence team, in arguing that there was no grounds for impeaching him, in its submission to the court cited a July 2024 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that stated Trump had immunity for actions taken as president, Yonhap news reported.
https://menafn.com/1109053744/S-Korea-Troops-Prevent-Arrest-Of-Yoon-After-Tense-Stand-Off
Japan's foreign defense aid to rise 60% in FY 2025
By KYODO NEWS
Japan has allocated 8.1 billion yen ($51 million) for fiscal 2025 to provide defense equipment to the armed forces of like-minded nations, marking a more than 60 percent increase from the previous year.
While the government has yet to finalize the recipient nations for the next fiscal year from April under its "official security assistance" program, the Philippines, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea are set to be included, Foreign Ministry officials said.
Japan is also considering giving security aid to some Pacific island states, according to the officials.
The spending is part of the government's 115.5 trillion yen draft initial budget for fiscal 2025, approved by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Cabinet late last month.
For the current fiscal year through March, the ministry has earmarked 5 billion yen and designated the Philippines, Indonesia, Mongolia and Djibouti as recipients of the grant aid.
Tokyo launched the defense aid framework in 2023 to "ensure the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region" and "create a security environment desirable for Japan," amid mounting concerns, including China's maritime assertiveness in the South and East China seas.
The program backs efforts by developing countries to beef up their defense capabilities in areas such as maritime and aerial surveillance, disaster response and other forms of humanitarian assistance, as well as U.N. peacekeeping operations.
Assistance for foreign militaries is not covered by Japan's official development assistance, which is limited to nonmilitary objectives.
As for the development aid, the government has set aside 566.4 billion yen for the next fiscal year, up 0.2 percent from the previous year.
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2025/01/6c8753703fd3-japans-foreign-defense-aid-to-rise-60-in-fy-2025.html
Cote d'Ivoire announces French military exit after decades-long stay
By RFI
In his end-of-year address to the nation on Tuesday, Ouattara said the withdrawal from the 43rd BIMA (Infantry and Marine Battalion of Port-Bouet) – which ends a military presence that has lasted for decades – would be “coordinated and organised”.
The president urged Ivorians to take pride in the modernised state of their armed forces.
The base, which currently hosts around 1,000 French soldiers, will be renamed Général Ouattara Thomas d'Aquin after the head of the Ivorian Chief of Staff, news agency AFP reported.
Military shift
France’s military presence in West and Central Africa is shrinking as the former colonial power reconfigures its strategy. Troop numbers will be reduced to 600, down from around 2,200, as part of this shift.
France has already pulled its soldiers out of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, following military coups in those countries and growing anti-French sentiment.
The government of Chad – a key Western ally in the fight against Islamic militants in the region – abruptly ended its defence cooperation pact with France in November.
France handed over the Faya military base in the desert north of Chad, on 26 December.
Meanwhile Senegalese president Bassirou Diomaye Faye confirmed on Tuesday the end of all foreign military presence in Senegal from 2025.
French troops are now only present in Djibouti and Gabon.
(with newswires)