hankyoreh

Sept. 2013. (US Missile Defense Agency)

Once again, controversy is stirring over the question of whether South Korea will join the missile defense system that the US is initiating in Northeast Asia. The South Korean government is largely responsible for the controversy, since its ambiguous stance toward the American plan is allowing it to be dragged into the system. We urge the government to consistently and clearly express its rejection of the American plan to prevent such a misunderstanding.

US intentions were clear in remarks made in Tokyo on Feb. 20 by Anita Friedt, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear and Strategic Policy at the U.S. Department of State, when she praised the Trilateral Information-Sharing Arrangement signed by the US, South Korea, and Japan in Dec. 2014. Friedt explicitly linked the arrangement to the development of a regional inter-operative missile defense system between the US, South Korea, and Japan.

Friedt’s comments imply that the missile defense system that South Korea is developing, known as the Korea Air and Missile Defense (KAMD), will be integrated with the missile defense system operated by the US and Japan.

Though the South Korean Ministry of National Defense denies the charge - on Feb. 21, a ministry official said that the use of the arrangement was limited to “sharing information about threats posed by North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missiles” - in the future, the arrangement could be bent to the Americans’ will. After all, the US is the country that spearheaded the agreement and that is organizing the sharing of information.

The South Korean government’s equivocal attitude is also apparent in the question of deploying the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) weapons system on the Korean peninsula.

The South Korean government insists that there have been no requests from or deliberations with the US about deploying THAAD. However, this claim has been called into question by several American military officers who have said that deliberations have taken place and that possible deployment sites have been surveyed.

KMD and introduction of THAAD

Furthermore, South Korean military officers and members of the ruling party have made both direct and indirect comments in support of THAAD, arguing that deploying the system would aid the country’s national security.

What a cowardly position this is: officially denying that deliberations are taking place, while quietly preparing to give in if the US pushes hard for deployment.

While the ostensible target of the Northeast Asia missile defense system is the threat of North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missiles, the actual target is China, and THAAD, the most recently developed technology, is the key component of this system.

Missile defense also plays an important role in the US policy of “rebalancing Asia”, which the administration of US President Barack Obama is currently promoting to counter China.

When the Chinese Defense Minister officially expressed concern about the deployment of THAAD during a visit to South Korea at the beginning of this month, it confirmed once more that the missile defense question is at the heart of the confrontation between the US and Japan on one side and China on the other.

For South Korea to fan the flames of this confrontation by joining one side will not help find a solution for North Korea’s nuclear program or lay the foundation for the unification of the Korean peninsula, let alone promote peace in Northeast Asia.

The South Korean government must quickly discard its complacent assumption that obeying the US will guarantee national security. It must also review the information-sharing agreement starting from square one. The government needs to realize that the current resurgence of controversy about South Korea’s involvement in the missile defense system is itself damaging to the country‘s national security.

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]