The resignation of South Korea's defense minister comes after a brief proclamation of martial law and as a security treaty between Russia and North Korea goes into effect.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has accepted the resignation of Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and selected Choi Byung-hyuk, the country's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, as the next defense minister.
On Thursday, the president's office announced Choi, a former army general, as the next defense minister, according to South Korean news agency Yonhap.
According to Yonhap, Kim recommended to President Yoon declaring martial law on Tuesday night, but the process was soon halted as South Korea's parliament decided to overturn Yoon's decision.
Yoon's appointment of a new defense minister marks his first official step since repealing martial law in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The reversal returned hundreds of South Korean troops, who had temporarily assaulted the National Assembly premises in Seoul, to their barracks.
In the midst of public fury over the attempted martial law and opposition party censure of Yoon, South Korea's parliament introduced a motion to impeach the president early Thursday.
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