South Korea’s martial law turmoil: North Korea will watch ‘this drama play out’

“Ironically, we sometimes talk about deescalating tensions between the two Koreas, but here, it is deescalating tensions among the South Koreans,” Michael Madden, nonresident fellow at the Stimson Center, told Sputnik commenting on South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s aborted attempt to impose martial law in his country.

The move could be described as a “preemptive strike in terms of President Yoon's domestic standing”, Madden said.

He warned there could be far-reaching consequences from South Korea’s “domestic political turmoil” which saw the country’s parliament swiftly block Yoon’s martial law-related order:

💬“The most optimistic scenario would involve Yoon staying in office as a lame duck until his term expires, and the wider ROK political leadership running interim government until the next presidential election in 2027.”

💬“On the other hand, we are more likely to see this conflict prolong.”

💬Yoon “might find himself impeached - maybe declare martial law again - or there might be a negotiated settlement and an acting president. Despite the constant facetious concern about ‘instability in the North’, it is the South that we should watch for leadership fissures.”

💬North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his close aides “would watch this drama play out,” Madden concluded.

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🇷🇺🪖Key statements from the Russian Defense Ministry's daily briefing on the special military operation's progress:

🔸Ukrainian losses in the Russian Tsentr Battlegroup's area of responsibility amounted to 530 militants, an armored personnel carrier and four armored vehicles;

🔸Ukrainian forces lost up to 500 servicemen and a "Zakhist-AF" electronic warfare station in the area of responsibility of the Russian Zapad Battlegroup;

🔸Ukrainian forces lost up to 350 servicemen in the area of responsibility of the Russian Yug Battlegroup;

🔸Ukrainian forces lost up to 150 servicemen in the area of responsibility of the Russian Vostok Battlegroup;

🔸Russian air defense systems shot down 61 Ukrainian drones during the day.

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Huge line spotted at the entrance to the “Russia Calling!” forum in Moscow where President Vladimir Putin will take part in the plenary session.

Stay tuned and don’t miss the livestream!

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🇰🇷 South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun apologized to citizens and announced that he had submitted his resignation to President Yoon Suk-yeol in light of the recent developments in the country, the Yonhap news agency reported on Wednesday.

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Tucker's interview with Putin was long so Americans would be able to understand - Russian Foreign Ministry

"You need to make sure the world hears. If it takes 45 minutes to answer questions so that the American audience understands, hears, or at least thinks about it, then that’s how the answers will come," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova commented on the timing of the Carlson-Putin sit down.

She said the US audience knows very little about world history or geopolitics, which, however, has become part of US election campaigns. That's why it's important to convey the message effectively.

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📹 Nigerian businessman speaks about foreign investment in Russia at “Russia Calling!” forum

"The investment and cooperation between different countries, it's something that didn't start now and it's never going to stop... we're trying to maximize the opportunity, understanding that a lot of companies actually have left Russia, which means it's an opportunity for other companies to actually come in. And this is what we've been doing for the past three years," Clever Oghenerobo Light from the Nigerian delegation said.

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Team Trump plans for resolving the Ukrainian conflict exclude NATO membership
 
In total, there are three main proposals, Reuters reports.
 
The outline by Trump's incoming Russia-Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg:
 
📄 includes a cease-fire based on the freezing of the existing battle lines at the time of settlement. NATO membership for Ukraine would be put on hold.
 
Trump's former acting intelligence chief Richard Grenell's initiative:
 
📄 proposes to create autonomous zones in eastern Ukraine as part of a peace agreement and believes that Ukraine's membership in NATO is not in the interests of the United States.
 
Vice President-elect JD Vance's proposal:
 
📄 provides for the demilitarization of the demarcation line between Russia and Ukraine and a guarantee for Russia that Kiev will not join NATO.
 
The head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergey Naryshkin, earlier stated that discussions in the West about freezing the conflict are related to the fact that Russia fully owns the initiative on the battlefield.
 
In addition, the Kremlin has repeatedly stressed that it is important for Russia to achieve its goals in the Ukrainian conflict; the freezing option will not work.

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🎥🎥 Putin participates in investment forum "Russia Calling!"

👉 Watch the livestream here or on Sputnik's website

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Domino effect? Trump lawyers mention Hunter Biden pardon to scrap ‘hush money’ case

Donald Trump’s defense lawyers have cited Joe Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter to argue that the US president-elect’s New York “hush money” conviction should be annulled.

In a court filing, attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove recalled that when recently announcing the pardon, the outgoing US president argued that his son was “selectively, and unfairly prosecuted” and “treated differently”, allegedly due to “raw politics” that “has infected this process and led to a miscarriage of justice.”

“Since [Manhattan] DA [District Attorney Alvin] Bragg took office, he has engaged in ‘precisely the type of political theater’ that President Biden condemned,” the lawyers wrote.

They insisted that the Trump case also was tainted by “contrived, defective and unprecedented legal theory” and should now be immediately dismissed.

🔸 Biden repeatedly pledged he would not pardon his son, who was convicted of tax evasion and lying on official paperwork that he hadn't previously been addicted to drugs before buying a gun at two separate trials.

🔸 Trump, who was earlier convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a “hush money” payment made to former porn star Stormy Daniels, asserts that his prosecution was politically motivated.

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📹💥 A Russian FPV drone threw a grenade into the hatch of a Ukrainian armored personnel carrier, destroying it along with its crew

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📹 Those who wanted to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, including in the economy, failed, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said.

In 2022, a number of countries showed themselves to be unreliable partners, destroying trade relations with the Russian Federation, he added.

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💬 Investments in Russia have been growing for the third year in a row, despite all the problems that they [the West] have tried to create for us from the outside, Putin said at "Russia Calling!" investment forum

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💬 Russia invites investors from friendly countries to the stock market, Vladimir Putin has said.

"Of course, we are inviting investors from friendly countries to our stock market … Russia is part of the global economy and we welcome reverse capital flows," Putin said at the "Russia Calling" Investment Forum organized by the VTB bank.

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'By the end of the decade, the capitalization of the stock market in Russia will more or less double' — Putin
 

"Let me note that this year only 19 IPOs and SPOs happened, but we have been able to raise 102 billion rubles. This is a very good result," he added.

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📈 Russia's GDP grew by 4.1% in January-October; growth is concentrated in high-value-added sectors - Putin

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❗️The digitalization level of Russia’s financial sector surpasses global averages, Putin noted at the "Russia Calling!" investment forum

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💬Russia seeks to strengthen economic sovereignty and technological leadership, Russia's president said

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📹Russia ranks among leaders in quality of business climate - Putin

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Key statements by Russian President Vladimir Putin at the "Russia Calling!" investment forum
 
🔸 In 2022, a number of countries proved themselves to be unreliable partners, destroying trade relations with the Russian Federation
 
🔸 The auto industry and machine building of the Russian Federation are growing at a great pace
 
🔸 The Russian economy has not only transformed, but also demonstrated structural changes 
 
🔸 Russia has a record low unemployment rate compared to many western countries

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❗️Russia did not expel anyone or squeeze them out of its market - Putin
 
Despite political pressure, many Western companies have not left the Russian market - Russia's president stressed

Russia will not create special conditions for Western companies that want to return to its market, but it will not hinder them either, Vladimir Putin has said.

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