CNBC:
South Korea is in no hurry to set up an advanced missile defense system designed to protect its shores from North Korean aggression despite fears of another intercontinental ballistic missile attack from its northern neighbor.
In June, South Korean President Moon Jae-in suspended further installation of the $923 million Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, pending a full review. That move was welcomed by China, who vehemently opposes the technology. And even as Kim Jong-un’s regime threatens “merciless blows” to its enemies, Seoul isn’t expected to shift its stance.
That’s because the American hardware carries emotional political baggage for South Koreans, Jenna Gibson, director of communications at the Korea Economic Institute of America, wrote in a note published this week by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “THAAD is not about China, or even the U.S. — it is about scandal-ridden former President Park Geun-hye.”
The fact that THAAD was initiated by Park — the country’s first democratically elected leader to be ousted from office via impeachment — is South Korea’s core issue with THAAD, the note explained…
