South korea update

• The Yonhap News Agency is reporting that members of the national assembly have been banned from entering the building, with the South Korean military having reportedly announced the suspension of all parliamentary activity. We have not yet independently verified this information. The parliament speaker is traveling to parliament and plans to convene a session, according to local broadcaster YTN TV.

-The US, south Korea’s most powerful ally, has not yet commented on the martial law declaration. About 28,500 American troops are stationed in south Korea to guard against north Korea, led by Kim Jong Un.

• Here is a statement from martial law commander Park An-su.

He said:

All political activities are banned in South Korea following the imposition of martial law on Tuesday and all media will be subject to government monitoring.

All political activities, including those of the national assembly, local councils, political parties, and political associations, as well as assemblies and demonstrations, are strictly prohibited.

All media and publications shall be subject to the control of the martial law command.

With martial law imposed, all military units in the south, which remains technically at war with the nuclear-armed north, have been ordered to strengthen their emergency alert and readiness postures, Yonhap news agency reported. Under south Korean law, lawmakers cannot be arrested by the martial law command and the government has to lift martial law if the majority of the national assembly demands it in a vote. The leader of the prime minister’s own conservative party, Han Dong-hoon, has vowed to stop the imposition of the law “with the people” and Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the opposition Democratic party, which has a majority in parliament, has also expressed opposition to it.

A taxi driver in Seoul who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal said: “They’re using exactly the same methods they used in the Park Chung-hee and Chun Doo-hwan eras … Whenever their regime is in crisis, they use war-mongering and martial law to cover it up.”

Park and Chun were military dictators in South Korea between 1961 and 1988. “I never imagined this would happen again,” the taxi driver said.

-South Korean markets started reacting to the news. The won tumbled to the lowest level against the dollar in two years: 1,443 won per dollar.

-The Chinese Embassy in Korea told Chinese citizens in the country to remain calm and pay attention to political changes. It asked them to “strengthen safety awareness, reduce unnecessary outings, express political opinions with caution and abide by the official decrees issued by Korea.”

-Live video broadcast by state news media shows soldiers pushing against citizens who are trying to enter the National Assembly building.