Park impeachment could further cloud ties

The parliament's vote on Friday to impeach Republic of Korea President Park Geun-hye may bring more uncertainty to the Korean Peninsula and the already strained China-ROK ties, analysts said.

Park, the country's first female president, was stripped of her power amid the country's worst political scandal in a generation. Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn will assume leadership until the country's Constitutional Court rules on whether Park must permanently step down. The court has six months to decide.

Chung Sye-kyun, the ROK National Assembly speaker, said the bill on Park's impeachment was passed by a vote of 236 in favor and 56 opposed, with 9 invalid votes and abstentions.