OREANDA-NEWS   Japanese Foreign Ministers Takeshi Iwaya and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yeol held a telephone conversation in which they discussed the situation in South Korea, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

"Minister Cho explained the situation in the Republic of Korea. The two ministers concluded that in light of the current strategic situation, the importance of Japan-South Korea relations remains unchanged, and agreed to continue close communication between the two Governments. Both ministers reaffirmed the importance of close coordination between Japan, the Republic of Korea and the United States in bilateral and trilateral formats on North Korea, despite the complicated situation," the Japanese Foreign Ministry said in a document.

On the night of December 4, South Korean President Yun Seok-yel announced the imposition of martial law "to purge pro-North Korean forces and maintain the liberal constitutional order." Army special forces troops were sent to the National Assembly, which tried to block the approaches to the building, but a significant number of deputies managed to get into parliament in advance, their supporters did not allow the military to enter, and lawmakers unanimously adopted a resolution by 190 votes out of 300 demanding that the president lift martial law. Later, the South Korean leader apologized for the imposition of martial law in the country and said that he would not impose it again, nor would he avoid political and legal responsibility. The South Korean opposition has made accusations of a coup against the president, Defense Minister Kim Yong hyun, Interior and Security Minister Lee Sang-min, as well as other key participants in the events from among the military and police.