Yonhap News:
BEIJING, May 12 (Yonhap) — South Korean Ambassador to China Kim Jang-soo dismissed Beijing’s concerns Tuesday over the possible deployment of an advanced U.S. missile-defense system in South Korea, saying that North Korea’s nuclear and missile arsenals pose threats to both Seoul and Beijing.
To better cope with the growing threats of North Korea’s nuclear and missile capabilities, both South Korean and U.S. officials have indicated the need for the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery in South Korea.
Arguing that the U.S. missile-defense system could also target China, Beijing has publicly pressed Seoul not to accept the THAAD battery. In return, South Korea’s defense ministry has blamed China for trying to “influence” Seoul’s security policy.
“The fundamental reason why debates over the possible deployment of the THAAD in South Korea continue is that North Korea continues to advance its nuclear and missile capabilities,” Kim said in an interview with Hong Kong-based Phoenix television.
Kim said North Korea is “building up security unrest and this situation is not serving the security and strategic interests of both South Korea and China.”
In October, South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo told lawmakers that deploying a THAAD battery at a U.S. military base in South Korea would help defend against North Korea’s missile and nuclear threats. South Korea is home to about 28,500 American troops.
Chinese scholars say the radar of the THAAD system can monitor objects located deep inside the Chinese mainland.
However, Kim, a former defense minister who headed the National Security Council at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae, said China “does not need to be worried because there is a certain limit in the radar of the THAAD system.”
Kim did not elaborate further.
South Korea and the U.S. have called for China, the economic lifeline of North Korea, to do more to rein in North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, but China’s stance over its ideological ally, Pyongyang, has often been self-contradictory.
Many analysts believe that China’s ruling Communist Party leadership won’t put enough pressure on North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions because a sudden collapse of the North’s regime could threaten China’s own security interests.
North Korea’s state media reported on Saturday that Pyongyang has successfully test-launched a ballistic missile from a submarine.
If independently confirmed, it would be a significant advance in the missile technology of North Korea, which has conducted three nuclear tests so far.
