South Korea Warms to U.S. Missile Shield
January 28 2016 - 04:20AM
Dow Jones News
South Korea is leaning toward introducing an advanced U.S.
missile defense system to guard itself against threats from North
Korea following Pyongyang's recent nuclear test, a bulwark strongly
opposed by China.
Current and former U.S. officials who have recently spoken with
top South Korean policy makers say the country hasn't decided yet
whether to adopt the system but that informal talks between
Washington and Seoul had increased recently.
One American official said there was a strong chance the U.S.
could announce that the two countries are in negotiations over the
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or Thaad, in the next
week or so.
A former U.S. official who recently met with senior South Korean
officials said a consensus appeared to be forming in Seoul. "Behind
the scenes it looks like Thaad is close to a done deal," this
person said.
A spokesman for South Korea's presidential office said Seoul was
considering all options on missile defense based on the national
security interest.
Any such deployment would put a sophisticated piece of U.S.
military hardware close to China and potentially raise friction
with Beijing. The radar system's coverage would extend beyond North
Korea into China's north.
The move would enhance Washington's military profile as it seeks
to form a comprehensive missile defense network in Northeast Asia
with an existing Thaad in Guam and another potentially in Japan,
where officials are considering the deployment of such a
system.
The system would also highlight a split between Washington and
Beijing over how to curb Pyongyang's pursuit of advanced weaponry.
On Wednesday, Secretary of State John Kerry said in Beijing that
the U.S. must take more defensive measures to protect itself and
its allies, as he called for China to toughen its stance on North
Korea.
The perception of a new threat from North Korea emerged on
Thursday when Japan's Kyodo News Agency reported that the country
may be preparing for another long-range missile test within days.
It cited an unidentified Japanese official's interpretation of
recent satellite imagery of a North Korean missile site.
Any such a test would violate U.N. Security Council resolutions
and signal Pyongyang's intent to continue to develop weapons of
mass destruction to protect its regime and force concessions such
as aid from other nations.
A South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman said Seoul was
monitoring North Korea's missile bases but couldn't confirm any
expected launches.
A Pentagon spokesman declined to discuss any specific U.S.
intelligence on any missile launches but said "we urge North Korea
to refrain from actions and rhetoric that threaten regional peace
and security."
For years, Seoul has preferred to develop its own
missile-defense system but has made limited progress. In 2014, U.S.
officials raised the prospect of deploying a Thaad battery in South
Korea. That sparked intense public debate in South Korea, which
balances its defense alliance with the U.S. along with its close
economic ties with China.
Beijing has made clear its opposition to a Thaad in South Korea
and has reacted coolly to closer defense cooperation between the
U.S. and its two main allies in the region, Japan and South
Korea.
"South Korea will sacrifice its fast-developing relations with
China, if it should be seduced into the defense network, ignoring
the protest of the largest economy in Asia," China's state-run news
agency Xinhua wrote in 2014.
North Korea's Jan. 6 nuclear test refocused discussion on the
Thaad, the officials said. That is when Pyongyang claimed to have
successfully tested a small version of a hydrogen bomb.
Since then, South Korean President Park Geun-hye and her defense
minister said the introduction of the Thaad system should be
considered. "There's a sufficient need to review it because our
[missile defense] capabilities are limited," Defense Minister Han
Min-koo said this week on television.
South Korea's existing defenses rely on intercepting missiles at
low altitudes, giving only a brief window of time to destroy them.
The Thaad system, made by Lockheed Martin Corp. and Raytheon Co.,
targets missiles at higher altitudes, creating another layer of
defense and more time to neutralize an attack. It could also cover
other areas of South Korea currently vulnerable to attack.
Senior officials from both of South Korea's main political
parties, even those on the left who are generally more skeptical of
a higher-profile defense posture, have spoken out in favor of Thaad
deployment in recent days.
Lee Seok-Hyun, the vice speaker of South Korea's National
Assembly and a member of the main opposition party this month
called Thaad an "indispensable self-defense" for South Korea.
"Seoul may feel it necessary to gradually acclimatize the South
Korean public to the policy shift in bite-sized announcements,
particularly prior to the upcoming National Assembly elections (in
April)," said Bruce Klingner, senior research fellow at The
Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based think tank.
Chieko Tsuneoka in Tokyo contributed to this article.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 28, 2016 04:05 ET (09:05 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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