South Korea’s acting president said North Korea may exploit the current “political turmoil” to stage provocations against the South, calling the country’s armed forces to maintain readiness amid the unfolding turbulence following the impeachment of former president Yoon Suk-yeol.

Han Duck-soo, who also faced impeachment but was reinstated in late March, convened an emergency meeting of the ROK National Security Council to address potential threats after the Constitutional Court unanimously upheld Yoon’s impeachment on Friday.

While acknowledging the court’s ruling and describing the outcome as grave, Han warned that the security situation facing the ROK is “more serious than ever,”