Tag: South Korea

It is looking more and more like the deployment to THAAD to South Korea is a done deal the way the Defense Ministry is currently talking.  The defense official in the article is right that THAAD has no capability against ICBMs.  The US has the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system that is used to defend against ICBMs.  Shooting down an ICBM requires a very large booster due to how high ICBMs fly which the THAAD does not have.  The THAAD system is used to defend against short and medium range missiles which North Korea threatens the South with.  THAAD does engagements at higher altitudes than the current Patriot system already deployed to the ROK.  This means the ROK would have a layered defense if the THAAD misses at a higher altitude the Patriot can still engage at a lower altitude.  Additionally when dealing with nuclear warheads you want to intercept them as high as possible:

The South Korean military will strategically focus on picking a candidate site for the U.S. missile defense system THAAD, rather than on a backlash from China and Russia, a high-ranking defense ministry official said Friday, as Seoul and Washington are poised to begin formal talks next week on the sensitive matter.

“Considering the stances of neighboring countries when (South Korea) picking an area to host the THAAD is not militarily (right),” the Defense Ministry official said on the condition of anonymity.

China has expressed “serious concern” over the deployment plan, which the country believes would put it within the range of the U.S. defense system. Russia is also unnerved by South Korea’s move.

The official stressed that the THAAD, if deployed in South Korea, would target North Korea alone over its growing nuclear and missile capabilities.

He also dismissed a view that South Korea is being drawn into the U.S. missile defense network.

“It does not necessarily mean South Korea joins the U.S. missile defense system,” the official said. “The THAAD does not intercept intercontinental ballistic missiles nor does it intend to defend the mainland U.S. or any other third country.”  [Yonhap]

You can read the rest at the link.

It is interesting that you don’t hear the Chinese or Russians complaining about the deployment of this Patriot battery to South Korea like you have about the THAAD battery when both systems have no capability to shoot down their ICBMs.  It will also be interesting to see how long it will take before a THAAD battery is deployed to South Korea as well:

 

The United States temporarily deployed an additional Patriot missile battery in South Korea in response to North Korea’s nuclear test and a long-range rocket launch, ahead of talks next week to set up an even more sophisticated U.S. missile defense in a move that has worried China and Russia.

The new tough stance follows South Korea’s decision to shut down an inter-Korean factory park that had been the rival Koreas’ last major symbol of cooperation, but that Seoul said had been used by North Korea to fund its nuclear and missile programs. North Korea responded by deporting South Korean citizens, seizing South Korean assets and vowing to militarize the park.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link.

Our analysis of South Korea's decision to shut down #Kaesong over North Korea provocations – https://t.co/eOEyLlEckw pic.twitter.com/tx6JY3WQue

— KEI (@KoreaEconInst) February 11, 2016

Culture: ‘Red money’ from China flowing into Korea's content industry-INSIDE Korea JoongAng Daily https://t.co/qK12gGZThF

— The Korea JoongAng Daily (@JoongAngDaily) February 11, 2016

If anyone should be apologizing it is the Russians who continue to support the Kim regime.  As far as the issue at hand I would think the Russians probably covered their tracks really well in regards to any rocket components transferred to the North Koreans:

Russia demanded an apology from South Korea on Wednesday for raising suspicions that key components of North Korea’s recently tested rocket are from Russia.

Mikhail Ulyanov, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s nonproliferation and arms control department, said in a news conference that South Korea should present evidence backing up the suspicions or retract them and apologize.

“This statement is irresponsible and unprofessional. One cannot come forward with such accusations without having clear evidence,” the official said.

After the North’s missile launch on Sunday, officials of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said in a closed-door emergency briefing to the parliamentary intelligence committee that key components of the missile appear to have come from Russia, according to lawmakers.  [Yonhap]

Apparently Conan O’Brien is coming to South Korea for five days to shoot his show in Seoul:

American talk show host Conan O’Brien will shoot his “Conan” show in South Korea, a local fan who claims to have been contacted by the Conan team said Thursday.

O’Brien will arrive here on Sunday for a five-day journey that involves trips to downtown Seoul and a traditional Korean village in the city’s outskirts, a Naver blogger who goes by the alias KIMMYS said in a blog post. More than 1,100 people are subscribed to the blog which has been posting updates on O’Brien’s schedule in South Korea.

He will also likely try out “soju,” or Korean rice liquor, make kimchi and receive acupuncture, with a meeting with more than 200 fans scheduled for Monday.

Other rumors say O’Brien will make cameo appearances in a Wonder Girls music video and other local shows.

O’Brien had shown interest in Korean culture previously on his show. In an episode aired February 2015, O’Brien visited a Korean spa in Los Angeles with Korean-American actor Steven Yeun.  [Yonhap]

North Korea to cut inter-Korean hotlines following KIC suspension https://t.co/ZHQ7OMClvu

— NK NEWS (@nknewsorg) February 11, 2016

If THAAD is going to be deployed to South Korea it appears it will happen pretty rapidly:

The United States hopes to deploy the THAAD missile defense system to South Korea “as quickly as possible” and the two countries will begin formal discussions on the matter “in the next few days,” the Defense Department said Monday.

“We would like to see this move as quickly as possible. We’re beginning the consultations now in the coming days with the South Koreans and we expect that this will move in an expeditious fashion,” Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said at a briefing.

Shortly after North Korea’s long-range missile launch Sunday, South Korea and the U.S. announced they would launch formal consultations on the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system to the South to better defend against the North’s nuclear and missile threats. [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

With the completion of the comfort women agreement it would seem that moving forward at some point on the military intelligence sharing agreement would be the next area of cooperation that the ROK and Japan should focus on.  This is especially important considering the increasing security threats from North Korea:

South Korea said Monday that gaining the public’s support is a prerequisite for Seoul to review whether to seek a pact on sharing military intelligence with Japan.

Japan’s Kyodo News reported Sunday that South Korea and Japan seem to hold the view that conditions are ripe for deepening military cooperation, saying that Defense Minister Han Min-koo said Seoul is mulling reviewing whether to clinch a Seoul-Tokyo pact on sharing military intelligence.

In 2012, the two nations initialed such a pact to spur the exchange of information on North Korea. But Seoul suspended its signing due to strong opposition from civic groups, which claimed the deal was inked hastily and behind the scenes.

Seoul’s defense ministry dismissed the report, adding that Han’s remarks meant that various factors should be first taken into consideration.

“Support from the National Assembly and the general public should be prerequisites for the accord to be clinched,” the Defense Ministry said. [Korea Times]

The deployment of THAAD has nothing to do with the radar being able to look into China, but more to do with trying to create a wedge between the US and the ROK according to analysts:

Analysts say China’s leadership is reluctant to impose tougher sanctions on North Korea because a sudden collapse of the regime could spark a refugee crisis at its border and lead to a pro-U.S., democratic Korea on its doorstep.

Kim Heung-kyu, head of the China Policy Institute at South Korea’s Ajou University, said relations between South Korea and China face a test because Beijing views the THAAD battery as a way of strengthening the alliance with Seoul, Washington and Tokyo.

“China does not regard the THAAD system as an issue of missile or radar, but a ‘regional alliance’ among South Korea, the U.S. and Japan,” Kim said. South Korean and U.S. officials made it clear that the THAAD battery, if deployed, “would be focused solely on North Korea.”

Still, there is a risk that the deployment of the THAAD battery in South Korea could make it difficult for Seoul to seek Beijing’s cooperation against Pyongyang, Kim said.

“With regard to the denuclearization of North Korea, I am not positive about whether the THAAD system is a useful option or not,” Kim said.  [Korea Herald]

You can read more at the link.