Foreign officials and media outlets report on South Korean political situation

[Anchor]

The U.S. government and media are closely monitoring our state of emergency martial law.

Some U.S. media outlets have broadcast the impeachment vote process live.

We connect to Washington.

Reporter Kim Kyung-soo, how is the U.S. government viewing this situation?

[Report]

Yes, it is early Saturday morning Eastern Time, so there has not yet been an official statement from the government.

However, there have been a series of high-profile public criticisms directed at the ally leader.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell pointed out that he believed President Yoon's decision was "badly misjudged."

Former President Obama also mentioned the situation.

At a forum held in Chicago, he said "showing a level of forbearance towards those who don’t look or think or pray like us, that’s at the heart of democracy," and that it was a difficult thing, adding, "Look what happened just this week in South Korea."

Foreign media interest is also intense.

Major foreign news outlets such as Reuters and AP urgently reported President Yoon's address to the nation this morning.

In particular, U.S. media like CNN have sent reporting teams to our National Assembly to cover the impeachment proceedings as breaking news.

Meanwhile, the state of emergency martial law and the resignation of the South Korean Minister of National Defense are causing disruptions in security dialogue between the two countries.

The planned visit of the U.S. Secretary of Defense to South Korea has been canceled, and a meeting of the U.S.-South Korea nuclear consultative group scheduled to be held in Washington has been indefinitely postponed.

As a result, there are concerns that there may be cracks in the U.S.-South Korea cooperation for the time being.

This has been reported from Washington.