A LEADERSHIP VACUUM
Internationally, things are complicated, too. The political crisis, now in its second week, will dilute the government’s ability to navigate difficult foreign policy issues and to address outstanding national security threats from across the border.
It is a precarious picture. There’s a war in Ukraine, a crisis in the Middle East, and now the rebuilding of Syria. China has launched military exercises in the waters around Taiwan this week, a timely reminder of the potential of a conflict breaking out in the Strait.
Skirmishes escalating in the South China Sea between Beijing and Manila are also worrying Asian policymakers. And there’s always the prospect of Kim Jong Un launching new missiles over South Korea and Japan, the most recent in November just hours ahead of the US election.
A leadership vacuum in South Korea is the last thing Washington needs right now. A July report from the Commission on the National Defense Strategy determined the US is facing a growing anti-American alliance unhappy with the status quo.
“China and Russia are major powers that seek to undermine US influence,” it notes. “They want more control over their regions than they now have.”
South Korea’s Ministry of National Defence confirmed that the president retains command of the armed forces. That means in the event of any foreign policy incidents, including a possible threat from North Korea, Yoon is still able to make executive decisions.
Still, it’s hardly the image of a well-run country, at a time when the deepening relationship between Pyongyang and Moscow is also a new headache for Seoul, as Chung Min Lee, senior fellow for the Asia program at the Carnegie Endowment of International Peace notes.
In return for the use of Pyongyang’s soldiers, Russia may feel obliged to transfer more modern weapons to North Korea, such as advanced combat jets and missile technologies.
A weakened government just as more North Korean soldiers join the fight alongside Russia in the Ukrainian war, and the potential for worsening US-China trade wars as Donald Trump prepares to re-enter the White House, will both have critical ramifications for Seoul, he adds.
