President Yoon Suk Yeol Yoon imposed martial law in the middle of the night earlier this month, plunging South Korea into its worst political crisis in decades.

South Korea's acting president faces an impeachment vote as the Constitutional Court meets for its first hearing on Friday in the case of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached and suspended from duties after a short-lived martial law.

This article is authored by Ananya Raj Kakoti, scholar, international relations, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

Pyongyang has sent an estimated 11,000 troops to support the Russian armed forces in their war against Ukraine. North Koreans are reportedly being deployed in the Kursk region, with around 1,000 soldiers killed or wounded this past week alone.