The Korea Herald:
South Korea’s main opposition party is grappling with internal division on its approach to the government’s decision to deploy U.S. missile defense system, showing a significant crevice in the center-left party‘s security platform.
The Minjoo Party of Korea lawmakers on Tuesday failed to reach a consensus in a party meeting over whether to endorse the deployment of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system. The attendants instead agreed to build an entity to study the issue and seek parliamentary measure to address any potential diplomatic fallout.
The party leadership has refrained from publicly opposing the deployment, directing its criticism toward the government’s lack of communication during the negotiation process. The third-biggest People’s Party and minor Justice Party, meanwhile, voiced their opposition toward THAAD.
“We have shared the view that the (THAAD) issue is a matter of national interest, not a matter of political ideology and party’s identity,” The Minjoo Party’s floor spokesperson Rep. Ki Dong-min said in a briefing after the meeting.
During the meeting that lasted over an hour, some 60 lawmakers debated whether the party should publicly oppose the missile system. The spokesperson said that the majority of the attendants urged the leadership to take the opposition as a party platform.
Including Rep. Shim Jae-kwon, the National Assembly’s chairperson of Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, the opposition camps argued that THAAD is not capable enough to fully prevent North Korea’s missile and nuclear threat.
