Tag Archives: THAAD

U.S. tells China that anti-missile system not a threat

THAAD missile defense system

BEIJING (Reuters) – South Korea’s decision to deploy an advanced U.S. anti-missile defense system does not threaten China’s security, a senior U.S. administration official said on Tuesday at the end of a visit to China by U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice.

The announcement by South Korea and the United States this month that they would deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) unit has already drawn protests from China that it would destabilize regional security.

The decision is the latest move to squeeze increasingly isolated North Korea, but China worries the system’s radar will be able to track its military capabilities. Russia also opposes the deployment.

“It is purely a defensive measure. It is not aimed at any other party other than North Korea and the threat it poses and this defensive weapons system is neither designed nor capable of threatening China’s security interests,” the official told reporters on a conference call.

South Korea and the United States have said THAAD would only be used in defense against North Korean ballistic missiles.

North Korea has launched a series of missiles in recent months, the latest last week when it fired three ballistic missiles in what it said was a simulated test of preemptive strikes against South Korean ports and airfields used by the U.S. military.

The missiles flew 500-600 km (300-360 miles) into the sea off its east coast and could have hit anywhere in South Korea if the North intended, the South’s military said.

North Korea came under the latest round of U.N. Security Council sanctions in March after its fourth nuclear test in January and the launch of a long-range rocket the following month.

Rice also emphasized the importance of all sides implementing U.N. sanctions on North Korea, and was pleased that China said it remained committed to their implementation, said the senior U.S. official who declined to be identified.

(Reporting by Sue-Lin Wong; editing by Ben Blanchard)

China says South Korea’s THAAD decision harms foundation of trust

A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor is launched during a successful intercept test, in this undated handout photo provided by the U.S. Department of Defense, Missile Defense Agency.

BEIJING/SEOUL (Reuters) – Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has criticized South Korea’s decision to deploy an advanced U.S. anti-missile defense system to counter threats from North Korea, saying it harmed the foundation of their trust.

The announcement by South Korea and the United States this month that they would deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) unit has already drawn protests from China that it would destabilize regional security.

The decision is the latest move to squeeze the increasingly isolated North Korea, but China worries the system’s radar will be able to track its military capabilities. Russia also opposes the deployment.

“The recent move by the South Korean side has harmed the foundation of mutual trust between the two countries,” Wang was quoted by South Korean media as telling South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se.

China’s foreign ministry, in a later statement, cited Wang as saying that South Korea should think twice about the deployment and value the good momentum of ties between Beijing and Seoul.

“THAAD is most certainly not a simple technical issue, but an out-and-out strategic one,” Wang said late on Sunday on the sidelines of a conference of foreign ministers from the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations in Vientiane.

Yun told Wang the deployment was aimed at protecting South Korea’s security and that it would not damage China’s security interests, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said.

In a meeting with North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho, who is also in Laos, Wang said China and North Korea were traditional friends, and China was committed to the Korean peninsula’s denuclearization and to resolving problems through talks, the ministry added.

At a separate meeting in Beijing, Fan Changlong, one of the vice chairmen of the Central Military Commission that controls China’s military, told U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice that the THAAD deployment would only worsen tension on the Korean peninsula.

“The United States must stop this kind of mistaken action,” China’s Defence Ministry cited Fan as saying.

South Korea and the United States have said THAAD would only be used in defense against North Korean ballistic missiles.

North Korea has launched a series of missiles in recent months, the latest last week when it fired three ballistic missiles that it said was a simulated test of preemptive strikes against South Korean ports and airfields used by the U.S. military.

The missiles flew 500-600 km (300-360 miles) into the sea off its east coast and could have hit anywhere in South Korea if the North intended, the South’s military said.

North Korea came under the latest round of U.N. Security Council sanctions in March after its fourth nuclear test in January and the launch of a long-range rocket the following month.

(Reporting by Jack Kim, additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Editing by Paul Tait, Robert Birsel)

South Korean President Park calls for unity over THAAD

South Korean President Park Geun-hye arrives for the 11th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit of Heads of State and Government (ASEM11) in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, 15 July 2016.

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean President Park Geun-hye said on Thursday the move to deploy a THAAD missile defense system was “inevitable” because of a growing threat from North Korea and that division in the South over its deployment is what Pyongyang seeks.

North Korea’s launch of three ballistic missiles on Tuesday was the latest evidence that the anti-missile system is needed, Park said at a National Security Council meeting.

This month’s announcement by South Korea and the United States to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) unit with the U.S. military in a rural melon-farming county in the South triggered loud protests from residents worried about possible negative health and environmental impacts.

“If we continue to be divisive and social confusion grows about a decision we had no choice but to make to protect the country and the lives of our people, it would be exactly where North Korea wants us to go,” Park said, according to her office.

North Korea said on Wednesday it had conducted a ballistic missile test that simulated preemptive strikes against South Korean ports and airfields used by the U.S. military, likely referring to the three missiles fired on Tuesday.

The missiles flew between 500 kms and 600 kms (300-360 miles) into the sea off its east coast and could have hit anywhere in South Korea if the North intended, the South’s military said.

Many residents of Seongju, about 200 kms (120 miles) from the capital Seoul, joined by opposition members of parliament and civic groups, have demanded the government scrap the decision to site the THAAD battery there.

Some residents bearing South Korean flags and anti-THAAD banners held a rally in central Seoul on Thursday to demonstrate against the decision. Roughly 2,000 people joined the rally, according to police and organizers, including the governor of Seongju who shaved his head in protest.

That follows a raucous standoff last week between residents and the country’s prime minister, who was pelted with eggs and plastic bottles and trapped inside a bus for several hours when he visited the county to explain the THAAD decision. Some residents blamed outside leftist activists for the incident.

Park said North Korea could stage an act of aggression at any time, including possibly a fifth nuclear test or cyber attack against the networks of national and financial institutions.

The North has also increased military equipment near the land and sea border separating the countries, she told the security meeting.

The two Koreas remain technically at war under a truce that ended fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War.

Tension on the Korean peninsula has been high since North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test in January and followed that with a satellite launch and a string of test launches of various missiles.

(Reporting by Jack Kim, additional reporting by Daewoung Kim and James Pearson; Editing by Michael Perry and Himani Sarkar)

South Korea chooses site of THAAD U.S. Missile System amid protests

Residents chant slogans during a protest against goverments decision on deploying a U.S. THAAD anti-missile defense unit in Seongju

By Jack Kim and Ju-min Park

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea announced on Wednesday the site where a U.S. THAAD anti-missile defense unit will be deployed against North Korea’s missile and nuclear threats, a plan that has angered China and prompted a North Korean warning of retaliation.

South Korea and the United States said last Friday they had made a final decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system in the South.

Tension on the Korean peninsula has been high since North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test in January and followed that with a satellite launch and a string of test launches of various missiles.

The South Korean Defence Ministry said the THAAD system would be deployed in the southeastern county of Seongju to maximize its effectiveness while minimizing any impact on residents and the environment.

“By operating the U.S. THAAD battery in Seongju, we will be able to better protect one half to two-thirds of our citizens from North Korean nuclear and missile threats,” the ministry said in a statement.

“It will dramatically strengthen the military capabilities and readiness to defend critical national infrastructure such as nuclear power plants and oil storage facilities, as well as the military forces of the South Korea-U.S. alliance.”

North Korea’s military on Monday threatened to retaliate against the deployment of the system with a “physical response” once its location and time of installation were decided.

South Korea’s defense ministry has said it aims to have the system operational by the end of 2017.

The decision to deploy THAAD is the latest move to squeeze the increasingly isolated North Korea, but China worries the system’s radar will be able to track its military capabilities. Russia also opposes the deployment.

South Korea and the United States have said THAAD will only be used in defense against North Korean ballistic missiles, but China has warned it would destabilize the regional security balance.

THAAD is built by Lockheed Martin Corp <LMT.N> and designed to defend against short- and medium-range ballistic missiles by intercepting them high in the atmosphere, or outside it. The United States already has a THAAD system on the island of Guam.

Putting THAAD in Seongju would also allow for protection of major U.S. military installations in the South, while limiting the range of its radar’s reach into China, South Korean media said.

The United States has about 28,000 troops in South Korea. It will pay for the THAAD system.

PROTESTS

South Korean Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho told parliament the government was making contingency plans in case China took action in response to the deployment.

But he added: “I don’t think there will be a major retaliatory action in terms of the economy.”

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang repeated China’s opposition to THAAD.

“China will resolutely take the necessary steps to protect our reasonable interests,” Lu added, without elaborating.

North Korea conducted its latest test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile a day after the announcement of the THAAD deployment, although it was seen as a failure. Earlier last week, the United States announced sanctions against North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over human rights abuses.

Recent media speculation about possible THAAD sites had fueled protests from residents, including those of Seongju.

The county’s commissioner has been on a hunger strike against the deployment, county official Kim Jee-hyun said.

A group of residents arrived at the Defence Ministry in Seoul on Wednesday to voice their opposition.

Members of parliament raised questions about the possible health impact of the system’s radar. The defense ministry had said it would choose a site that did not risk people’s health.

Seongju residents are also worried that the deployment could damage the reputation of their melon crop, which Kim said accounted for 70 percent of the country’s output.

“Our farmers are in despair,” she said.

(Additional reporting by James Pearson, and Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Editing by Tony Munroe, Robert Birsel)

China’s Xi urges caution over U.S. missile deployment

South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing's Great Hall of the People

BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday urged South Korea to pay attention to China’s concerns about the deployment of the U.S. THAAD missile defense system to the country and “cautiously” address the plan.

The United States and South Korea have begun talks on possible deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system after North Korea tested its fourth nuclear bomb on Jan. 6 and conducted missile tests.

China and Russia have urged the United States to back off, saying THAAD’s deployment could also affect their security.

South Korea should “attach importance to China’s legitimate concern on security and cautiously and appropriately address the United States’ plan” to deploy THAAD in South Korea, Xi told visiting South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

North Korea’s drive to develop a nuclear weapons capability has angered China, Pyongyang’s sole major diplomatic and economic supporter. But Beijing fears THAAD and its radar have a range that would extend into China.

Xi added that China and South Korea should continue to work for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, work together to maintain peace and stability and solve problems through dialogue and consultation.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Nick Macfie)