South Korea LIVE: Latest updates as President Yoon Suk Yeol declares martial law as police clash with protesters outside Parliament

South Korea’s National Assembly has passed a resolution calling for the lifting of martial law.

Under South Korean law, martial law can be lifted with a majority vote in the parliament, where the opposition Democratic Party holds a majority.

National Assembly speaker Woo Won Shik, in an emergency statement released on his YouTube channel, called for all legislators to gather immediately at the National Assembly and urged military and law enforcement personnel to “remain calm and hold their positions”.

Earlier today, President Yoon declared martial law in a move he claimed wad to protect the country, yet he did not cite any specific threat from the nuclear-armed North, instead focusing on his domestic political opponents.

It is the first time since 1980 that martial law has been declared in South Korea.

South Korea has had a series of authoritarian leaders early in its history but has been considered democratic since the 1980s.

These photographs illustrate the chaos gripping South Korea at the moment as violence erupts in the country following the President’s declaration of martial law.

A man holds the South Korea flag as protesters gather outside the National Assembly in Seoul

Soldiers prepare to advance to the main building of the National Assembly

Troops battle to enter Parliament

Members of the military make their way through the crowd in front of the National Assembly

Violence has erupted outside South Korea’s National Assembly building after President Yoon Suk Yeol sensationally declared emergency martial law today, prompting hordes of angry citizens to clash with riot cops and security forces.

Yoon delivered a shocking late-night address in which he vowed ‘to protect the free Republic of Korea from the threat of North Korean communist forces, to eradicate the despicable pro-North Korean anti-state forces plundering the happiness of our people and to protect the constitutional order.’

He went on to accuse his country’s opposition of controlling the parliament and hamstringing the government through anti-state activities before asking his citizens to ‘believe in him’ and ‘tolerate some inconveniences’.

South Korea’s military proclaimed that under martial law, parliament and other political gatherings that could cause ‘social confusion’ would be suspended and anyone found to violate the regulations could be arrested without a warrant.

Yoon said in his address: ‘With no regard for the livelihoods of the people, the opposition party has paralysed governance solely for the sake of impeachments, special investigations, and shielding their leader from justice… Through this martial law, I will rebuild and protect the free Republic of Korea, which is falling into the depths of national ruin.’

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Hello and welcome to MailOnline’s live coverage as South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declares martial law in the country to leave it in crisis.

President Yoon has vowed to eliminate ‘anti-state” forces as he struggles against an opposition that controls the country’s parliament and which he accuses of sympathising with communist North Korea.

The surprising move harks back to an era of authoritarian leaders that the country has not seen since the 1980s, and was immediately denounced by the opposition and by the leader of Mr Yoon’s own conservative party.

Following Mr Yoon’s announcement, South Korea’s military proclaimed that parliament and other political gatherings that could cause “social confusion” would be suspended, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.

The military also said that the country’s striking doctors should return to work within 48 hours, Yonhap said.

Thousands of doctors have been striking for months over government plans to expand the number of students at medical schools.

The military said anyone who violates the decree could be arrested without a warrant.