It looks like the ROK and the US are looking to make a strong statement to North Korea on the status of the US-ROK alliance:
The annual Korea-U.S. joint exercises will be the largest ever in terms of both “quality and quantity,” Defense Minister Han Min-goo told Saenuri Party officials at the National Assembly on Thursday.
Twice as many U.S. troops and double the equipment as before, or about 15,000 U.S. troops and hardware like a combat aviation brigade, a Marine mobile brigade, an aircraft carrier fleet, a nuclear-powered submarine fleet, and aerial refueling tankers, will be participating in the drills dubbed “Key Resolve/Foal Eagle.”
On the Korean side, the troop numbers will be greater by half than usual at 290,000 personnel, including special operations forces, Army corps in the front-line areas, and Army divisions in the rear areas.
The exercises are aimed at ensuring that troop reinforcements from the mainland U.S. are integrated smoothly on the Korean Peninsula in an emergency. [Chosun Ilbo]
It looks like the ruling Saenuri party in South Korea is trying to get out ahead of the Korean left by addressing any environmental concerns with THAAD early in the deployment decision making cycle. This is actually a good play by the ruling party because like I predicted before environmental and safety concerns is a typical left wing tactic in Korea to attack the US military with and the THAAD issue is a perfect time to use it again:
Lee Cheol-woo, also a Saenuri lawmaker, agreed with Kim Jae-won although he underscored a need to settle public concerns on health and security risks associated with THAAD.
“The villagers living in the neighborhoods cited as the sites for THAAD deployment are worried about possible exposure to strong electromagnetic radiation emitted from THAAD radar as well as environmental pollution,” Lee said. “It will be important to settle such concerns before setting up a THAAD battery.” [Korea Times]
It seems racist to me to have an anchor baby system for one race of migrant workers to South Korea, but not others. It would be interesting to see if other migrant workers could challenge such a system in court if it ever was implemented:
The tragedy reminded me of a controversial remark made by Kim Moo-sung, leader of the ruling Saenuri Party. At the seventh meeting of the party’s Special Committee on Low Birth on Jan. 29, Kim mentioned Germany’s acceptance of four million immigrants from Turkey. He said, “Korea has a great way to minimize culture shock. We can bring in ethnic Koreans from China.” He proposed that Chinese nationals of Korean descent could raise our plunging birth rate.
His remark was met with revulsion. Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung criticized Kim, saying, “The Korean-Chinese are not machines for giving birth.” The National Women’s Committee of the opposition Minjoo Party of Korea pointed out that “Kim’s comment is disparaging to the Korean-Chinese people and Korean citizens, and that shows his wrong view on women.” [Joong Ang Ilbo]
I am sure a lot of due diligence will be done by USFK to ensure the proper military location for the THAAD system is chosen, but I would have to think political concerns have to weigh into the deployment location as well. If land has to acquired to deploy the system we could see a repeat of what happened in 2005 when land had to be acquired for the Camp Humphreys expansion. The Korean left would love to start another movement like that to stop the THAAD deployment. If the deployment can happen with no land needing to be acquired I would expect the Korean left to next claim the THAAD hurts the environment in some way. So hopefully USFK has all their environmental impact studies dusted off and ready to go to counter such claims:
A heated dispute is underway regarding possible sites to locate a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery with South Korea and the United States scheduled to begin talks as early as this week on whether the missile-defense system is to be deployed.
Where the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) will locate the THAAD unit involves a variety of conflicting matters ranging from reactions from neighboring countries including China, along with possible safety and environmental threats to nearby residents.
Locations cited as possible sites for THAAD include Pyeongtaek in Gyeonggi Province, Daegu, and Waegwan in North Gyeongsang Province. The USFK’s Camp Humphreys is located at Pyeongtaek, Camp Walker in Daegu and Camp Carroll at Waegwan, outside of Daegu.
Other candidate sites include Wonju in Gangwon Province and Gunsan in North Jeolla Province.
Defense Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun said during a media briefing, Monday, that an allies’ joint working-level group will conduct their review of candidate areas before deciding on a site after consideration of all related matters.
“The military utility of the USFK will be considered as the most important aspect because the THAAD will be operated by the USFK,” he said. “Allies will choose an optimal location from which the military can shoot down North Korean missiles.” [Korea Times]
You can read the rest at the link, but the Daegu area is the district for ruling party member Rep. Yoo Seong-min who has been a strong supporter for the deployment of THAAD to Korea. Having strong political support in the region should help counter any Korean left wing attempt to stop the deployment. It will be interesting to see how this turns out.
The US has used another show force against the Kim regime by doing a fly over of South Korea with its F-22 stealth fighter aircraft:
Four U.S. F-22 stealth fighters flew low over South Korea on Wednesday in a clear show of force against North Korea, a day after South Korea’s president warned of the North’s collapse amid a festering standoff over its nuclear and missile ambitions.
The high-tech planes capable of sneaking past radar undetected were seen by an Associated Press photographer before they landed at Osan Air Base near Seoul. They were escorted by other U.S. and South Korean fighter jets.
Pyongyang will likely view the arrival of the planes flown from a U.S. base in Japan as a threat as they are an apparent display of U.S. airpower aimed at showing what the United States can do to defend its ally South Korea from potential aggression from North Korea. [Associated Press]
I guess the US has to go through the motions of telling the Chinese that the THAAD missile defense system is of no threat to them. However, I have to guess that US officials know that the Chinese already know it is not a threat and instead are in my opinion using the issue to try and create a wedge between the US and the ROK:
The United States and China have been in discussions about the possible deployment of an advanced American missile defense system in South Korea, a diplomatic source with knowledge of the matter said Monday.
The discussions are aimed at seeking China’s understanding that the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery in South Korea is not aimed at undermining China’s security interests, the source said on the condition of anonymity.
While the U.S. is trying to explain technical details on why the THAAD is not targeting China, the Chinese side has not actively listened to the explanation from the U.S. side, the source said.
“The Chinese side has been opposed to the THAAD with incorrect information and the discussions are aimed at changing China’s view about the issue,” the source said. [Yonhap]
This just shows the level of concern the Chinese government has for their own people. An irresponsible regime in North Korea is blowing up nuclear weapons right across the border from China and the Chinese government is more outraged by a missile defense system that has no strategic impact on them or would harm their citizens:
Speaking on Saturday (Feb 13) at the Munich Security Conference, Fu said that while her country is displeased with the recent nuclear test by North Korea – formally known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea – citizens are even more concerned by the US response.
“The Chinese public is also angry about the DPRK nuclear issue, but they’re even more angry about THAAD,” Fu said, referring to the Thermal High Altitude Area Defence anti-ballistic missile system the US says it deployed to protect against North Korea.
“It covers more territory in China than in North and South Korea together.” [The Strait Times]
What Ms. Fu is saying is intentionally misleading. The THAAD radar may have a range that looks into China, but the interceptors do not because the system is designed to intercept short to medium range ballistic missiles. It has no capability against ICBMs. I wish someone would challenge the Chinese government to prove the THAAD can intercept ICBMs. If the THAAD could intercept ICBMs then why does the US have the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system fielded in Alaska and California to defend against limited ICBM attacks?
It is pretty clear the Chinese government knows this, but in my opinion they are just trying to drive a wedge between the US and the ROK. If they can pressure the ROK to stop the THAAD deployment they hope this will create animosity between the US and the ROK while demonstrating China’s increased influence. That is all that this is about and the THAAD issue is just an excuse to do this.
Farmer Kim Gap-sul shows the rare triplet calves his 10-year-old cow gave birth to at a village in the southeastern town of Sancheng on Feb. 9, 2016, in this photo released by the Sancheong municipality on Feb. 12, 2016. (Yonhap)
