This is an issue I hope at some point the Trump administration confronts the Moon administration on because this blockade of the THAAD site is ridiculous and could be ended at any time by the Korean government:
Tractors block the road to the site of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery
“The buildings we have weren’t built to house soldiers,” she said. “It’s not unlivable, but it’s not nice.”
She says the protesters not only force her troops to fly in and out every week via helicopter, but also stop U.S. vehicles from shipping in goods and supplies.
“Currently, the only way on and off of the site is by helicopter,” she said. “A week at a time at least, every single one of my soldiers is away from their barracks room, their family.”
She said if the gates weren’t blocked they wouldn’t require the extended rotations and could keep more people at Carroll, which is only a 25-minute drive away.
Spc. Josiah Welch, a THAAD operator, said conditions have improved since he started at the site in November.
“There was pretty bad mold initially,” said the 25-year old from Winter Park, Fla. “There was a week where we didn’t have running water – we had baby wipe showers.”
Now they have air conditioning and showers, he said.
The military finally began shipping fresh food three times week last month, reducing some reliance on pre-prepared field rations, Theilacker said. [Stars & Stripes]
I think it is pretty clear that the Chinese government is using the North Korea issue to put pressure on the ROK to remove the THAAD battery:
South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha (L) holds talks with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Singapore on Aug. 3, 2018. (Yonhap)
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi asked South Korea on Friday to resolve the issue of an advanced U.S. missile defense system deployed on the peninsula.
Wang made the request in bilateral talks with his South Korean counterpart, Kang Kyung-wha, in Singapore on the margins of annual ASEAN-hosted sessions, according to a South Korean government official.
He cited the need for a “compete resolution” to the matter, a repeat of Beijing’s demand, which comes amid a peace mood in Korea. [Yonhap]
So why would North Korea care about removing a purely defensive weapon system that is of no threat to them? The only reason they would want the THAAD battery gone is so they can more easily target South Korean cities with their ballistic missiles. That seems contrary to supposedly seeking peace on the peninsula:
THAAD launcher at Seongju, South Korea.
North Korea on Thursday urged South Korea and the U.S. to lift sanctions, withdraw the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery in southwestern Korea, and stop mentioning human rights abuses in the North.
The demands came after the recent inter-Korean summit and ahead of a summit with the U.S.
“The American plot against human rights practices is a provocative racket that poses an obstacle to the trend towards dialogue and peace,” the official Rodong Sinmun daily said. “We’re doubtful of America’s sincerity whether it really has the intention to have dialogue.”
The Uriminzokkiri propaganda website complained about remarks by U.S. officials in favor of keeping up maximum pressure on the North, calling them “an affront and insult to our sincere efforts towards peace.”
State media also said there is “no longer is any justification or excuse” for the presence of the THAAD battery. Propaganda outlet Meari said, “The THAAD battery is an ill-intentioned act running counter to the inter-Korean relations. The battery should be withdrawn immediately.” [Chosun Ilbo]
You can read more at the link, but here is where things are getting even more interesting; the White House and Beijing are supposedly negotiating a withdrawal of THAAD from Korea if North Korea denuclearizes:
The U.S. and China are discussing a possible withdrawal of a U.S. missile defense system from South Korea as part of a grand bargain over North Korea’s nuclear program, multiple sources familiar with the talks said.
The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, deployed in South Korea last year, has been a bone of contention with China. China has doubted U.S. claims that the system has the sole purpose of destroying missiles from North Korea, insisting its covert mission is to spy on Chinese airspace. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but the White House denies this report, but this could be another one of these trial balloons put out by the Trump administration to judge Chinese reactions.
Riot police break up a sit-in by anti-THAAD protesters in Seongju, some 215 km southeast of Seoul, on April 23, 2018. (Yonhap)
Construction vehicles made it into the base of the United States THAAD anti-missile system in southeastern South Korea on Monday after riot police removed protesters blocking the road to oppose THAAD’s deployment.
Twenty-two vehicles carrying construction materials, equipment and workers entered the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense base in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, from around 11:20 a.m. as part of a project to build facilities for troops manning the unit.
Their entrance came about three hours after riot police began removing about 200 residents and activists occupying the Jinbat bridge in a sit-in aimed at preventing the vehicles’ passage. About 3,000 riot police were mobilized to break up the protest.
Scuffles and shoving matches broke out as police moved in. Protesters resisted by inserting their arms into plastic pipes in an attempt to tie themselves together to make it difficult for police to carry them away. They also chanted slogans, such as “Out with violent police.”
About 10 people were injured during the clash, with five or six of them taken to a hospital. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but it appears from the article that it was pretty easy for the police to open the road. I wonder if the anti-US leftist groups did not send their manpower down to Seongju to put up a fight with the police because of this week’s Kim-Moon summit?
Protesters resist police by putting their arms into plastic pipes in an attempt to tie themselves together during a sit-in in Seongju, some 300 km southeast of Seoul, on April 23, 2018. (Yonhap)
Via a reader tip comes news that the ROK military may finally be the ones to end the ridiculous blockade of the THAAD site in Seongju:
South Korea’s defense ministry said Thursday it is mulling an alternative to dialogue with activists and residents near the U.S. military’s new missile defense base on the peninsula.
They have been blocking the transport of construction materials and equipment into the THAAD site in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, for months.
They are concerned that the military will expand helipads and other facilities associated with military operations in the compound.
The Ministry of National Defense stressed that it’s urgent to improve the living conditions of hundreds of American and South Korean troops there with no adequate amenities.
“In connection with the deployment of the THAAD system, we have tried to respect residents’ opinion as much as possible, abide by democratic procedures and maintain transparency,” the ministry’s spokeswoman Choi Hyun-soo said at a press briefing.
However, it’s believed to be difficult to resolve the issue through dialogue, she said, adding that the military plans to seek a “necessary measure.”
The statement was a de facto ultimatum, although no deadline has been set publicly.
It heralds a police operation to disperse the protesters and clear the way for the delivery. A fierce physical clash is expected. [Yonhap]
The way I look at it, as long as the ROK government continues to allow the protesters to block the road and artificially make sustainment costs for THAAD more expensive they should pay for it:
South Korea’s defense ministry said Friday that the cost of operating a U.S. missile defense system installed in the South may be covered using part of Seoul’s new share of upkeep costs for U.S. forces stationed here.
The U.S. could demand South Korea shoulder some costs needed to run and keep the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system as the allies are in discussion to renew their five-year deal on defense cost-sharing.
“If the U.S. side hopes to use Seoul’s share of the U.S. forces upkeep costs to cover THAAD’s operation, it may be possible to use it within the total amount of the South’s share in accordance with sectoral needs and regulations,” the ministry said in a statement.
It could potentially spark a row as it marks a sharp difference from the government’s stance that South Korea will not bear any of the costs associated with THAAD. [Yonhap]
Trailers enter a THAAD base in the country’s southeastern rural county of Seongju on April 12, 2018, to bring excavators, bulldozers and forklifts out of the base in accordance with an agreement between villagers and the defense ministry. The equipment was introduced in November to build the THAAD base, which the villagers strongly oppose. (Yonhap)
Here is an update from the frontlines of the THAAD protest site:
Residents near the THAAD missile defense base in Sejongju, North Gyeongsang Province, clash with police on April 12, 2018, protesting against the transport of construction materials and equipment into the area. (Yonhap)
-South Korea’s defense authorities decided Thursday to wait until this weekend to bring construction materials and equipment into the U.S. missile defense base in the face of local residents’ protest.
The military had planned to transport them to the THAAD site, located in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, within the day.
Police clashed with hundreds of activists and residents, trying to clear the way for the trucks. Some protesters were hurt.
But the Ministry of National Defense reached a deal with them to continue talks through the weekend. The government pulled the police out of the area.
Only a dozen trailers will enter the base to take such heavy equipment as forklifts and bulldozers out of it. Those were used for early-stage construction work a few months ago. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but the protesters want to be able to go on the site and monitor all the construction work which is intended to improve soldier facilities on the site. If a random civilian is allowed on the site maybe Kim Jong-un should demand that he should be allowed to have a representative on the site as well.
Via a reader tip comes this update on the status of the THAAD site in Seongju:
Tractors block the road to the site of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery
The setup of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery from the U.S. in southwestern Korea has been on hold since September last year as locals and activists block access to the site.
“There’s been no progress in the construction of THAAD facilities, as well as the quarters for U.S. troops,” who are to operate the battery, a military spokesman told reporters Monday.
Seoul and Washington agreed in September 2016 to deploy THAAD interceptor launchers at a former golf course in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province. The U.S. Forces Korea brought two launchers last April and four more last September.
A USFK source claimed the South Korean government appears to be neglecting the deployment, which has been widely unpopular.
A steel barricade set up by activist groups and locals last April still blocks the road near the THAAD deployment site.
According to police, about 10 locals check passing vehicles in tag teams of two around the clock to block any USFK vehicles or trucks carrying equipment.
Although this is highly illegal, police seem to have done nothing .
“We’ll resolutely clamp down on illegal demonstrations,” a police spokesman said. “But it’s our principle not to stoke upheavals.”
Police have drastically reduced their presence at the site. About 300 troops from four police companies were deployed last September, but now only some 80 are on standby some 4 km away.
The USFK is reduced to running the THAAD battery as if in a field maneuver, on generators fueled by diesel flown in by helicopter. [Chosun Ilbo]
You can read more at the link, but resupplying the site by helicopter seems to me to be riskier than by a ground approach. If a helicopter was to crash I wonder if that will change the situation on the ground any?
President Moon’s trip to China began with him receiving a cold shoulder from the Chinese:
South Korean President Moon Jae-in (2nd from R) gives remarks at the South Korea-China expanded summit talks in Beijing on Dec. 14, 2017. (Yonhap)
The early part of President Moon Jae-in’s state visit to China this week was marred by Beijing’s mistreatment of the Korean leader, who is making his first visit to the country since taking office in May.
Upon arrival in Beijing, President Moon was greeted by Kong Xuanyou, Chinese assistant minister of foreign affairs and special representative on Korean Peninsula affairs.
During a state visit last year by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, China sent Foreign Minister Wang Yi to the airport to greet him. Considering such a precedence, Beijing should have sent a higher official than one of its foreign ministry’s assistant ministers to greet the Korean head of state.
Aside from the inappropriate airport greeting, Chinese President Xi Jinping was out of town on the day of Moon’s arrival. Xi was in China’s eastern city of Nanjing to preside over a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the 1937 Nanking Massacre by Japanese troops. Korean Ambassador to China Noh Young-min attended the event at the order of the President rather than greet him at the airport. The President reportedly told him it is more important for an ambassador to take part in a meaningful event in the host country. Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang and other key figures in Chinese government were also absent from Beijing as they were also taking part in the Nanjing ceremony.
Cheong Wa Dae dismissed the media reports of Moon getting mistreated by China, but one cannot help getting the impression so far that China is not very enthusiastic about Moon’s visit. [Korea Times]
Then there was the beatdown of a South Korean journalist by Chinese security that marred a business event that President Moon attended. Then the Chinese refused to issue a joint statement about the lingering THAAD issue:
Calling the media reports “narrow-minded,” the state-run outlet reported on China’s stance over the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system.
“The issue has become the biggest obstacle to the Bejing-Seoul relationship. The two governments partly reached an agreement on how to solve the problem, but some differences remain unsolved. The fact that the two sides will not issue a joint statement is a reflection of the differences.”
Lee Chang-ju, researcher for the Korea Logistics Forum, said the provocative editorial mirrors lingering domestic concerns in China. The Huanqiu Shibao has been outspoken in defending China’s national interest.
“If the two countries had issued a joint statement focusing on economic cooperation without mentioning THAAD, South Korea would have viewed it as a full-fledged solution to the THAAD, which China cannot accept,” Lee said [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but it is pretty clear that the Chinese government is going to continue to politically use THAAD as a wedge issue to separate the ROK from the United States. The Chinese feel that that the US is trying to recreate the old USSR containment strategy against them and thus are taking actions to counter this. They have made inroads within the Philippines at countering US influence there and are doing the something with the ROK using the phony THAAD dispute.
