Kim Jong Un Signals Continued Missile Development as North Korea Plans Five-Year Military Modernization 
U.S. Urges Acceptance of Honduras Election Results as Nasry Asfura Declared President-Elect 
Zelenskiy Urges High-Level Talks With Trump as Ukraine, U.S. Near 20-Point Peace Framework 
U.S. Discusses Migrant Transfer Plan With Palau Despite Lawmaker Opposition 
US and Japan Fast-Track $550 Billion Strategic Investment Initiative 
Lebanon Cabinet Approves Financial Gap Law to Tackle Ongoing Economic Crisis 
China’s One-Child Policy Legacy Resurfaces After Death of Former Population Chief 
US Airstrikes Target Islamic State Militants in Northwest Nigeria Amid Rising Security Concerns 
Japan Approves Record ¥122.3 Trillion Budget as Takaichi Seeks Fiscal Balance 
Christmas Eve Jazz Concert Canceled After Kennedy Center Renaming to Include Trump 
U.S. Pledges Maximum Sanctions on Venezuela Amid Rising Global Tensions 
Palau Agrees to Accept Up to 75 U.S.-Transferred Migrants in Deal Tied to Increased American Aid 
Zelenskiy to Meet Trump to Advance Ukraine Peace Talks and Security Guarantees 
Global Backlash Grows Over Israel’s Approval of New West Bank Settlements 
NSW Passes Toughest Gun and Anti-Terror Laws After Bondi Beach Shooting 
EU Condemns U.S. Visa Ban on European Figures, Warns of Firm Response 
Zelenskiy Discusses Ukraine Peace Efforts With Trump Envoys 
Following the recent fatal shooting of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, South Korea has now sought to ramp up the security detail for high-profile individuals. The increase in security detail also included the US ambassador to South Korea’s attendance at an LGBTQ pride parade in the country.
Reuters reports that South Korea is ramping up its security for high-profile officials in light of Abe’s assassination. The country’s Presidential Security Service said it would strengthen security measures for President Yoon Suk-yeol, and the National Police Agency has ordered its regional branches to increase monitoring to guard key individuals.
“We are reviewing our security system for the president following the Abe shooting and will take necessary measures to strengthen our security posture,” a presidential security service official told Reuters.
South Korean police are also preparing for the Seoul Queer Culture Festival that will be taking place on Saturday. US ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg and other envoys are expected to attend. Small protests took place at the US embassy in South Korea the previous weekend, with demonstrators accusing Washington of “homosexual cultural imperialism.”
“We are planning to tighten security as there are a number of risk factors with opposition groups also set to hold a rally at the same time,” said a police officer.
Security details for US ambassadors to South Korea have been controversial over the years. Back in 2015, a South Korean man slashed the face of then-ambassador Mark Lippert at a forum with a fruit knife.
In 2019, up to 20 protesters climbed the wall into the US ambassador’s residential compound in another illegal entry. Law enforcement boosted security in the area following a complaint by the US State Department.
South Korea is also tackling the tensions in the region following numerous weapons tests by North Korea. The South Korean military said Sunday that it has detected shots coming from Pyongyang, which might have come from rocket launchers.
The country’s Joint Chief of Staff said the shots were detected after 6:00 p.m. KST and that the military has increased surveillance and alert levels without disclosing any further details.
