SEOUL — South Korea’s interim leader called on the nation on Wednesday to calmly accept the decision from the Constitutional Court on the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, as police ramped up security around the court ahead of the ruling on April 4.

At a ministerial meeting on safety ahead of the ruling, acting President Han Duck-soo said he “strongly asked” politicians not to make any comments that could incite violence.

“The government will not tolerate any illegal or violent acts. No matter what decision is made, we must accept the results calmly based on the rule of law,” Mr. Han said.

“If we can become one again with your strength and wisdom, we can overcome this crisis of confusion and conflicts,” he said.

The Constitutional Court, which is reviewing Mr. Yoon’s impeachment over the shock martial law order, said it will announce its decision on whether to remove him from office permanently or reinstate him on Friday, April 4.

Mr. Yoon was impeached by parliament on Dec. 14 after being accused of violating his constitutional duty by declaring martial law in early December with no justifiable grounds.

If the court rules to oust him, a new presidential election must be held within 60 days.

South Korean police have beefed up security in areas around the court, preparing to deploy all forces from midnight into the ruling day on Friday.

The acting chief for the national police force, Lee Ho-young, said the area around the court would be turned into a “vacuum state” to restrict access and cordon off pro-and anti-Yoon rallies to prevent any potential clashes.

Vowing to act sternly against any violence, Mr. Lee said police will arrest those who vandalize facilities, threaten justices or assault police officers.

In January, hundreds of Mr. Yoon supporters stormed a court building after his detention was extended, smashing windows and breaking inside.

Han has directed police to step up security for constitutional court justices.

Bracing for big rallies and a heavy police presence on the ruling day, foreign embassies have issued alerts calling for extra caution.

The US embassy in Seoul said on Wednesday that it would cancel routine consular operations like visa interviews on the afternoon of April 3 and all day on April 4. The Chinese embassy has told its nationals to stay away from large political protests and not to participate in those rallies. — Reuters

BANGKOK — Myanmar’s ruling junta should free up movement by international aid workers to help survivors of a devastating earthquake, even in areas controlled by groups battling it, aid and human rights groups said, as the death toll looks set to cross 3,000.

The military has struggled to run Myanmar since overthrowing the elected civilian government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021, reducing to tatters the economy and basic services including healthcare.

With thousands injured and infrastructure crippled following Friday’s quake of magnitude 7.7, regional authorities were struggling to cope and desperately needed support, the groups said.

“The situation remains critical, with disrupted communications and road access hampering response efforts, particularly in Sagaing,” the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) said, referring to one hard-hit area.

More than 28 million people live in the six regions affected by the quake, it added in a statement, saying it had $12 million in emergency funding for food, shelter, water, sanitation, mental health support and other services.

China’s official Xinhua news agency said the death toll rose to 2,886 on Wednesday, with 4,639 injured, citing the junta.

The rural parts of hard-hit Sagaing were mostly under the control of armed resistance groups fighting the military government, the International Crisis Group said.

“They will be among the most challenging for aid agencies to reach, given regime restrictions, a complex configuration of local administrations and control by armed resistance groups, and the persistent conflict,” it added in a statement.

Even before the quake, the ICG said, information had been hard to gather from such areas, because of a junta blackout of internet and mobile phone networks as part of the conflict. The military has dismissed as misinformation accusations that it committed widespread atrocities as it fought against a multi-pronged rebellion that followed the coup.

UNFETTERED ACCESS
Human Rights Watch urged the junta to allow unfettered access for humanitarian aid and lift curbs impeding aid agencies, saying donors should channel aid through independent groups rather than only junta authorities.

“Myanmar’s junta cannot be trusted to respond to a disaster of this scale,” Bryony Lau, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a report.

“Concerned governments and international agencies need to press the junta to allow full and immediate access to survivors, wherever they are.”

Australia announced a further A$6.5 million ($4.1 million) in humanitarian support for Myanmar, supplied “through thoroughly vetted international and local partners.”

In a statement on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said, “We take proactive steps to ensure our assistance does not legitimize the military regime in Myanmar.”

The military council has rejected requests from international journalists to cover the quake devastation, citing the lack of water, electricity and hotels.

In neighboring Thailand, the death toll from the quake rose to 22 on Wednesday, with hundreds of buildings damaged.

Rescuers scoured for survivors in the rubble of a collapsed skyscraper under construction in the capital Bangkok, where the death toll is 15, with 72 missing.

The government is investigating the collapse and initial tests showed some steel samples from the site were substandard. — Reuters

BEIJING/TAIPEI — China’s military held long-range live-fire drills in the East China Sea on Wednesday in an escalation of ongoing drills around Taiwan, saying it was practicing precision strikes on port and energy facilities but with no details on the exact location.

The exercises follow a rise in Chinese rhetoric against Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, who China called a “parasite” on Tuesday, and come on the heels of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Asia visit, during which he repeatedly criticized Beijing.

China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has repeatedly denounced Mr. Lai as a “separatist.” Mr. Lai, who won election and took office last year, rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims and says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future.

China’s Eastern Theatre Command said that on Wednesday as part of the Strait Thunder-2025A exercise its ground forces had conducted long-range live-fire drills into the waters of the East China Sea, though it did not give an exact location.

“The drills involve precision strikes on simulated targets of key ports and energy facilities, and have achieved desired effects,” it said, without elaborating.

Taiwan’s benchmark stock index briefly slipped into the red after the announcement, before recovering its losses.

China’s Maritime Safety Administration announced late Tuesday a closed zone for shipping due to military drills until Thursday night in an area off the north part of the eastern province of Zhejiang, more than 500 km (310 miles) from Taiwan.

A senior Taiwan defense official told Reuters that was outside Taiwan’s “response zone.”

China’s military published a video it said was of the live fire drills that showed rockets, rather than ballistic missiles, being launched and hitting targets on land, and an animation of explosions over Taiwanese cities including Tainan, Hualien and Taichung, all home to military bases and ports.

The words “Control energy corridors, disrupt supply routes, block clandestine routes to docks” then appear on the screen.

Taiwan has denounced China for holding the drills.

A senior Taiwan security official told Reuters there were more than 10 Chinese warships in Taiwan’s “response zone” on Wednesday morning, and that China’s coast guard was participating with “harassment” drills.

Taiwan’s defense ministry, detailing China’s movements over the past 24 hours on Wednesday morning, said 76 aircraft and 15 warships were involved.

China’s recent pressure against Taiwan also included a call last week for people to e-mail reports about separatist activity.

Chiu Chui-cheng, head of Taiwan’s China-policy making Mainland Affairs Council minister, said that given the rising risk of visiting China, people should carefully consider whether they need to go, including to Hong Kong and Macau.

WAR GAMES
China had not formally named Tuesday’s drills. China called two rounds of major war games last year around the island Joint Sword-2024A and Joint Sword-2024B.

China’s widely read Global Times, published by the ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily, said advanced equipment had been used, pointing to pictures from the military showing YJ-21 air-launched ballistic missiles slung under H-6K bombers.

The H-6K is an extended-range strike aircraft, while the YJ-21 is an advanced anti-ship weapon. H-6 aircraft, some of which are capable of carrying nuclear weapons, have been involved in past drills around Taiwan, and also spotted over the disputed South China Sea.

Previous Chinese war games have also practiced precision strikes and blockading the island.

Taiwan has not reported any travel disruptions because of the drills. Taiwan’s state refiner, CPC Corp., told Reuters that liquefied natural gas imports had been unaffected.

The United States, Taiwan’s most important international backer and main arms supplier despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties, condemned the exercises.

“Once again, China’s aggressive military activities and rhetoric toward Taiwan only serve to exacerbate tensions and put the region’s security and the world’s prosperity at risk,” the US State Department said in a statement.

Japan and the European Union (EU) also expressed concern.

“The EU has a direct interest in the preservation of the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. We oppose any unilateral actions that change the status quo by force or coercion,” an EU spokesperson said.

Taiwan has lived under the threat of Chinese invasion since 1949 when the defeated Republic of China government fled to the island after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong’s communists, though the two sides have not exchanged fire in anger for decades. — Reuters