Crowds of people wrapped up against the bitter January cold clutch signs emblazoned with the slogan “Stop the Steal,” wave US flags, and don red MAGA-like hats.

"Today, the alliance between the United States and Korea remains more essential than ever in shaping our shared future," said Secretary Blinken.

It isn’t a Donald Trump rally, however, but a protest by conservative supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who could become the East Asian democracy’s first sitting president to be arrested after he plunged it into political instability last month with his botched attempt to declare martial law.

The damaged flight data recorder from the Jeju Air passenger jet that crash-landed in South Korea will be sent to the United States for analysis, Seoul’s transport ministry said Wednesday, as bereaved families began visiting the crash site.

The U.S. secretary of state aimed to show that his country stood by South Korea as it grapples with a political crisis, and as Donald J. Trump returns to power.

South Korea's acting President Choi Sang-mok vowed to continue trilateral cooperation with Japan and the United States, saying on Friday his country's diplomacy remains steadfast despite an unprecedented political crisis at home.

North Korea said Tuesday it successfully test-fired a new intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile, claiming the weapon would "reliably contain any rivals in the Pacific region."

By developing hypersonic weapons and testing them before the presidential changeover in the United States, North Korea has a significant bargaining chip to use for whenever the new Trump administration comes looking to continue their previous diplomacy with Kim Jong-un.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed confidence in South Korea’s acting leader as the two nations reaffirmed their security alliance and combat readiness against North Korea at a time when Seoul is struggling to restore political stability.

North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency claimed a successful test of a new type of intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile.

The US has announced a $500m aid package for Ukraine, including air defence missiles and ammunition. Meanwhile, around 113 people are injured after a Russian bomb attack in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia.