hankyoreh

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se (left) reading over materials during a hearing of the National Assembly’s Special Committee on Budget and Accounts

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se - one of the ministers in charge of responding to North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs - was steadfastly opposed to the South Korean government’s early decision to deploy the THAAD missile defense system, a source said on July 12.

South Korea’s neighbors China and Russia, South Korean opposition parties, and a large number of experts had already expressed their disapproval of the announcement made by Seoul and Washington on July 8 to deploy THAAD with US forces in South Korea. Now it turns out that South Korea’s own Foreign Minister, the main person responsible for dealing with North Korea’s nuclear program and the fallout from the THAAD deployment, is in the ranks of the opposition as well. This is likely to raise serious questions about why President Park Geun-hye decided to deploy THAAD earlier than expected despite the strong opposition of the responsible Minister.

Multiple sources in the government who are familiar with the discussion inside the government about deploying THAAD told the Hankyoreh on July 12 that Yun had been consistently opposed to the government pushing forward its decision to deploy THAAD.

According to one government source, Yun voiced his opposition because South Korea needed to establish and strengthen international cooperation over sanctions against North Korea in response to the North’s fourth nuclear test in January and its repeated ballistic missile launches and that a rushed decision to deploy THAAD could detract from international cooperation by provoking a backlash from China and Russia.

“The Defense Ministry had always been in support of deploying THAAD. Immediately after North Korea launched the Musudan ballistic missile on June 22, the Defense Ministry’s attitude became even more aggressive,” another source said.

“With the Foreign Ministry prioritizing international cooperation on sanctions against North Korea and the Defense Ministry emphasizing [the need] to strengthen the military’s ability to respond to North Korea, the President apparently sided with the Defense Ministry,” this source added.

In an appearance before the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee on July 11, Defense Minister Han Min-koo said that the THAAD deployment had been discussed by relevant ministries on July 4 and that the government’s final decision to deploy the missile defense system with US forces in South Korea had been made during a meeting of the National Security Council on July 7.

There are a number of provocative aspects of Yun’s opposition to the rushed decision to deploy THAAD. Yun has a circumspect personality - so circumspect, in fact, that he is regarded as innocuous - and many say that he has a knack for sensing what President Park wants and adjusting policies accordingly. The fact that such an official voiced an opposing opinion appears to show the gravity of his concerns as the minister responsible for coordinating the international response to North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs that the decision to deploy THAAD would have severe repercussions.

“The success of international cooperation in sanctions against North Korea depends upon China, and the early decision to deploy THAAD makes it even harder to persuade China to work with us. In all honesty, this is a disconcerting situation for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” said one official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Indeed, the Chinese government is quickly toughening its response to the South Korean and American governments’ decision to deploy THAAD.

China and Russia’s opposition to THAAD is also expected to have a negative effect on responding to North Korea‘s nuclear program at the level of the UN Security Council. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin issued joint statements on two occasions (June 23 and June 25) expressing their opposition to the deployment of THAAD, which they warn would upset the strategic balance in Northeast Asia.

“After each of North Korea’s ballistic missile tests since it conducted its fourth nuclear test, the UN Security Council has immediately issued a press statement condemning the test. If the UN Security Council statement condemning North Korea’s submarine-launched ballistic missile test on July 9 is delayed or not issued at all, that could be taken as a sign that something is amiss with international cooperation over North Korea,” said a senior official at South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The UN Security Council published statements of condemnation on the day after North Korea’s Musudan missile tests (on Apr. 15 and June 22) and its submarine-launched ballistic missile test (on Apr. 23). But three days have gone by since North Korea’s submarine-launched ballistic missile test on July 9 without any response from the UN Security Council.

The question still remains why President Park was in such a hurry to make the decision about deploying THAAD despite the strong backlash that was expected inside and outside of South Korea.

“We should pay attention to the phrase about an ‘alliance decision’ in the joint statement that South Korea and the US released about their decision to deploy THAAD,” said one key government official. The phrase suggests that South Korea was under pressure from the US.

In connection with this, Japanese newspaper the Asahi Shimbun reported on July 10 that South Korea suggested delaying the announcement about deploying THAAD until the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) between South Korea and the US in October, but the US pushed South Korea to move the announcement forward.

By Lee Je-hun, staff reporter

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