"Ironically, we sometimes talk about deescalating tensions between the two Koreas, but here, it is deescalating tensions among the South Koreans!" Michael Madden, nonresident fellow at the Stimson Center, told Sputnik when commenting on South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s aborted attempt to impose martial law in his country.
The move could be described as a "preemptive strike in terms of President Yoon's domestic standing", Madden, who is also a leading contributing analyst to 38 North and director and founder of NK Leadership Watch, said.
He warned there could be far-reaching consequences from South Korea’s "domestic political turmoil" which saw the country’s parliament swiftly block Yoon’s martial law-related order:
"The most optimistic scenario would involve Yoon staying in office as a lame duck until his term expires, and the wider ROK political leadership running interim government until the next presidential election in 2027," according to the analyst. On the other hand, "we are more likely to see this conflict prolong," he added.
Yoon "might find himself impeached—maybe declare martial law again—or there might be a negotiated settlement and an acting president. Despite the constant facetious concern about ‘instability in the North’, it is the South that we should watch for leadership fissures", Madden pointed out.
As for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his close aides, they "would watch this drama play out," Madden concluded.