Duma links South Korea's sanctions against Russia and DPRK to domestic problems

South Korea's new sanctions against Russia and the DPRK are an attempt by local officials to distract citizens' attention from the domestic political crisis in the country. Alexei Chepa, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, shared this opinion on December 17.

Information about the new restrictions was published earlier in the day on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Korea. The restrictions will come into force from midnight on Thursday, December 19. Seoul says the listed individuals and companies have allegedly assisted in financing or supplying materials related to the DPRK's nuclear missile program.

"I believe that an attempt to impose martial law in the country was made for the same (to divert public attention. - Ed.)," Duma TV's Chepa quoted Izvestia as saying in a commentary by Chepa.

The hero of the dorama: why South Korea's parliament impeached the president

Now the fate of the head of state will be decided by the Constitutional Court

South Korean President Yun Seok-yol declared martial law in the country on December 3. The reason for such a step he called the threat of power paralysis, arising from attempts to conduct impeachment proceedings. Commander of the emergency regime, Chief of Staff of the Ground Forces Park Ahn-soo noted that until martial law is lifted in the republic, the activities of the parliament, political parties and associations are prohibited. Military equipment was brought to the streets of Seoul.

The opposition party of the republic, in turn, demanded the resignation of the head of state and said it intended to charge Yoon Seok-yeol with treason. At the same time, all heads and senior secretaries of the presidential administration of South Korea resigned. In addition, the trade unions of the Republic announced a general strike.

Before that, in late June, South Korea updated its export control list for shipments to Russia and Belarus, adding 243 more items. With the increase in the number of items, the list will be expanded to 1402 goods. It is noted that the list includes metal-cutting equipment, parts of optical devices and sensors.