World
South Korean president's martial law declaration a 'blunder,' could embolden North Korea, expert says
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s surprising short-lived move to declare martial law, which drew condemnation from opposition lawmakers, to root out “anti-state” forces was a “blunder” and possibly an attempt to “reassert himself,” an expert says.
Opposition parties moved Wednesday to impeach the president, which would require the support of two-thirds of the 300-seat parliament and at least six justices of the nine-member constitutional court. A motion to impeach was submitted by the liberal opposition Democratic Party and five smaller opposition parties and could be put to a vote as early as Friday.
“I think he was trying, even desperately, to reassert himself to tell his domestic foes that he’s the man in charge and there will be consequences for the efforts by the opposition parties to stifle Yoon’s many reform programs,” Sung-Yoon Lee, a global fellow at the Wilson Center in Washington D.C., and author of “The Sister: North Korea’s Kim Yo Jong, the Most Dangerous Woman in the World,” told Fox News Digital.
WHY DID YOON’S PARTY LOSE IN SOUTH KOREA’S ELECTIONS AND WHAT TROUBLES DOES HE FACE NOW?
South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol waves as he arrives to address a joint meeting of Congress, Thursday, April 27, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
“But I think it was a blunder, possibly a legal breach, and certainly, something akin to an own goal politically,” he added, referring to the notion of something that one does thinking it will help him or her but actually causes one harm.
The martial declaration lasted only six hours but sent shockwaves through the country, as it hearkened back to South Korea’s past military-backed governments when authorities occasionally proclaimed martial law and other decrees that allowed them to station soldiers, tanks and armored vehicles on streets or at public places such as schools to prevent anti-government demonstrations.
People hold candles during a candlelight vigil against South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul, South Korea after he declared martial law. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
The country achieved democracy in the late 1980s. No major violence was reported, and martial law was lifted after lawmakers rejected the move in a 190-0 vote.
In a speech announcing the declaration, Yoon vowed to eliminate anti-state forces while accusing the opposition of sympathizing with North Korea. The North, a totalitarian-run state, will use what happened in the South to its benefit, Lee said.
SOUTH KOREA’S PRESIDENT IS PICKING UP GOLF IN HOPES TO IMPRESS TRUMP
People watch a TV screen showing South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s televised briefing at a bus terminal in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
“I’m sure the North Korean leadership is sharpening its knives right now,” he said. “It would be very atypical, unusual for North Korea just to sit around and allow this kind of sensational, breathtaking crisis in South Korea to go to waste.”
Lee expects the North to issue provacative statements, resort to hostile acts and blame Yoon for its own “belligerence” and argue that the backlash against him is a reaction to his hostility toward his northern neighbor.
If Yoon is impeached, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who holds the No. 2 position in the South Korean government, would take over presidential responsibilities. Presently, the constitutional court has only six justices following three retirements, meaning all six would have to vote in favor of impeachment to oust Yoon from office.
Four of the six justices are Yoon appointees.
In this photo taken on May 9, 2023, South Korean soldiers walk at the truce village of Panmunjom in the Joint Security Area (JSA) of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating North and South Korea, with a view of North Korea’s Panmon Hall in the background. (Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images)
“It remains to be seen whether the constitutional court, if we come to that point, will actually endorse, authorize impeachment and the ouster of President Yoon, but it’s a possibility,” Lee said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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By Alisa Shodiyev Kaff
June 11, 2026
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U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey resigned Thursday after clashing with Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government over military spending, dealing the British leader a setback weeks before a critical NATO summit to include President Donald Trump.
Healey’s departure stemmed from a dispute over the delayed Defense Investment Plan (DIP) — the government’s long-promised roadmap for military investment and readiness — and as NATO allies face renewed pressure from Trump to boost defense spending.
“John Healey’s resignation is a seismic moment for the government and the Ministry of Defense,” Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) Senior Associate Fellow Ed Arnold told Fox News Digital.
“For the government, it creates a sequence of political headaches in terms of a replacement, and trying to get the Defense Investment Plan published.”
BRITISH PM KEIR STARMER MOVES UK MILITARY INTO ‘WAR-FIGHTING READINESS’
Britain’s Defence Secretary John Healey speaks with British and Norwegian naval personnel at the unveiling of the Atlantic Bastion programme in Portsmouth, Britain, on Dec. 4, 2025. (Peter Nicholls/Pool via Reuters)
Healey had been in intense, late-stage negotiations with Starmer and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves over the scale and timelines of the DIP.
Starmer reportedly refused to set out a timeline to reach 3.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defense by 2035 — a promise he made to Trump at last year’s NATO summit — and would not commit to a firm date for reaching 3%.
Instead, Starmer offered Healey a deal to spend 2.68% of GDP on defense by 2030, up only marginally from 2.6% next year, Reuters reported.
“You have been unable, and the Treasury has been unwilling, to commit the resources that the nation needs to defend the country,” Healey wrote to Starmer in his resignation letter, warning that the financial constraints would “make the country less safe,” the outlet reported.
NATO CHIEF URGES MEMBERS TO ‘TURBOCHARGE’ DEFENSE PRODUCTION AS HE PAINTS PICTURE OF A WORLD BOUND FOR WAR
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, U.S. President Donald Trump and Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer pose with NATO country leaders during the NATO Heads of State and Government summit in The Hague, Netherlands, on June 25, 2025. (Ben Stansall/Pool via Reuters)
“If the delay to the Defense Investment Plan was already undermining the government’s credibility on defense, John Healey’s resignation has blown a hole in its side,” Professor Kevin Rowlands of the RUSI defense and security think tank told Fox News Digital.
“The immediate consequence is not just political embarrassment for No. 10, but a significant loss of planning certainty at a time when the British Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defense, and industry really need clarity on what will be funded, and when,” he added.
The political fallout is expected to reverberate across the Atlantic, where Washington has increased pressure on European allies to fulfill their defense obligations. Trump has frequently criticized NATO alliance members as “free riders.”
On June 3, Secretary of State Marco Rubio also told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that the upcoming Ankara summit would be the “most important meeting” in NATO’s history because there are some things “that need to be cleared up and fixed.”
He added, “The United States is still in the NATO alliance, and we’ll be there.”
TRUMP EFFECT FORCES GERMANY TO REPRIORITIZE DEFENSE AS NATION PLAYS CATCH-UP IN MILITARY SPENDING
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer increased the military presence in Cyprus following an Iranian drone strike early Monday, Feb. 24, 2026. (Kin Cheung / POOL / AFP via Getty Images))
However, U.S. officials have made it clear that patience is wearing thin.
“Ahead of next month’s NATO summit, POTUS has been clear: Allies must fulfil their commitment to spending 5% of GDP on defense,” U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker posted on X this week.
Furthermore, a U.S. official noted that a U.K. funding package far lower than 18 billion pounds ($23 billion) would send a highly “negative” signal to Trump ahead of the Ankara meeting, according to The Times.
Starmer has pledged to lift spending to 3% in the next Parliament but Healey’s exit has exposed that the current strategy leaves the U.K. lagging behind key allies. By comparison, Germany plans to spend 3.7% of its GDP on defense by 2030.
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“Healey knows the threats we face, he knows the capabilities and shortfalls the armed forces have, and if he believes that the financial settlement is not enough to keep the country safe — to the extent that he cannot honorably stay in post — then we are in trouble,” Rowlands added.
“While the impact will mainly be felt on Whitehall, the international implications are severe with a NATO summit just three weeks away,” Arnold noted.
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After two years of strong performance driven by a shift to a war economy, Russia’s economic situation is weakening, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told Euronews.
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And although the IMF raised its forecast for Russia’s 2026 growth in its April outlook from 0.8% to 1.1%, Georgieva told Euronews this did not reflect the full picture of the economic weakening.
“The higher oil prices do give a breather to Russia,” Georgieva said, arguing the hike cannot offset the bigger hit to Russia’s economy.
“They have depleted their buffers dramatically,” Georgieva said. The oil price windfall “appears to be used to rebuild buffers rather than to inject more investment into the economy,” she explained.
“Growth has slowed down significantly. Now we are projecting 1%. Before the war, their potential growth was 1.6%,” Georgieva pointed out.
The IMF managing director also told Euronews that it is important to consider other economic indicators to better understand Russia’s current economic situation.
“Inflation is high. That means that interest rates are high, almost 15%.”
The IMF does not expect to see “material impact on growth in Russia,” Georgieva said. “It is a country whose medium (and) long-term prospects have worsened significantly.”
She listed three grounds on which the prospects have worsened. The first is losing people.
“A country that was in a demographic decline to begin with now lost so many young people for a terrible reason,” Georgieva explained.
The second factor is the sanctions, specifically the way they “bite a lot on the technology front.”
“What we see in the oil and gas sector in Russia, there is a tremendous problem with lack of technological renewal that is restricting the ability of the sector to expand,” she said.
And the third is the fact that “Russia lost standing.”
“That translates into many tangible and non-tangible losses. I mean, just think of the young Russians that could have built relations with Europeans and others and did not because of the war,” Georgieva stated.
“So, on the whole, Russia is coming crippled,” she concluded.
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