South Korea looks set for a dramatic political showdown this week as impeachment proceedings kick off against suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol, who remains holed up in his fortified residence evading arrest for a separate criminal investigation.

The launch event came as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was visiting Seoul for talks with South Korean allies over the North Korean nuclear threat and other issues.

The Constitutional Court, an arbiter in a polarized nation, is about to consider whether Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment for declaring martial law was justified.

Eight days after Pyongyang launched a hypersonic ballistic missile, it fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles into the sea.

Yoon’s detention, after a tense standoff outside the presidential residence, marks the latest chapter in a bewildering series of events since his martial law decree.