On Tuesday night, South Korean President Yin Xiyue suddenly announced a state of emergency, causing shockwaves in the South Korean political arena. Despite the state of emergency being lifted a few hours later, the aftermath continued. On Wednesday, the United States, Sweden, and Japan all announced the postponement or cancellation of their scheduled official visits.
According to Reuters, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson was scheduled to hold a summit with Yin Xiyue this week. However, Kristersson’s spokesperson stated on Wednesday that the visit would be postponed. “In light of recent developments, we have decided to delay the visit,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
An unnamed U.S. official indicated that the United States indefinitely postponed the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) meeting and related war games. The NCG is a signature effort of Yin Xiyue aimed at enabling South Korea to play a greater role in allied plans to address potential nuclear conflict on the Korean Peninsula.
With approximately 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea, it remains unclear if other joint military exercises will be affected. A spokesperson for the U.S. forces in Korea did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment. The Pentagon stated on Tuesday that the U.S. and South Korean military “remain in contact,” adding that South Korea has not requested assistance during the unfolding situation. Pentagon spokesperson Patrick Ryder stated at a press conference that the state of emergency has not had any significant impact on U.S. forces so far.
Earlier, a White House spokesperson stated that the United States did not receive advance notice of Yin Xiyue’s declaration of a state of emergency and added, “We are deeply concerned about the developments observed locally.”
Yin Xiyue’s state of emergency also cast uncertainty over the potential visit of U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin next week. Japanese media reported that as part of the trilateral efforts advocated by Yin Xiyue, Austin would meet with the South Korean Defense Minister and the Japanese Defense Minister.
Akihisa Nagashima, special advisor to the Japanese Prime Minister, mentioned that the Japan-Korea parliamentary group led by former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga had cancelled their plans to visit South Korea in mid-December as part of Yin Xiyue’s trilateral initiatives. Nagashima, who originally planned to accompany the delegation to South Korea, wrote on his social media platform X on Wednesday, “The ongoing political turmoil in South Korea since last night is concerning.”
“The current situation is very tense, and we must closely monitor the fate of the Yin Xiyue government to see if it can overcome strong public opposition,” he said.