VOA News:
SEOUL —
A deepening partisan divide over the deployment of the controversial U.S. THAAD missile defense system is becoming a key national security issue in South Korea’s emerging presidential race.
In the wake of North Korea’s fifth nuclear test, the United States indicated in September it would accelerate the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, known as THAAD, which uses interceptor missiles to destroy ballistic missiles.
As late as December, the South Korean Ministry of Defense said it was planning to have the THAAD battery in place and operational by May, at the agreed upon site, a Lotte conglomerate-owned golf course in the rural southeastern part of the country.
Possible delay
But on Monday, South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-kyun said there is a possibility the THAAD battery deployment could be delayed due to scheduling difficulties.
“There is a procedure, that the board of directors of Lotte holds a meeting to approve the final cost estimation, but that meeting has not yet been held, and we expect the meeting to be arranged soon,” he said.
The possible delay may just be a bureaucratic impasse, but it comes at a time when THAAD has become an intensely political issue in South Korea.
Its strongest supporter, President Park Geu-hye, has been impeached by the National Assembly. Opposition leaders are denouncing the U.S. anti-missile system as they position themselves for possible presidential bids. And China is reportedly exerting economic pressure on South Korea to cancel the THAAD deployment.
Conservative support
President Park has been embroiled in an alleged multi-million dollar influence peddling scandal that has lead to her impeachment.
She has been suspended from office while the Constitutional Court reviews the legality of the legislative motion to permanently remove her from office, a process that could take months. If the motion is upheld a new presidential election will be scheduled within 60 days of the ruling.
In the interim, Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn has become acting president. He has vowed to keep President Park’s conservative policies in place, including the rapid deployment of THAAD.
Former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who last week returned to South Korea and is a prospective conservative candidate for president, has voiced his support for the U.S. missile defense system.
“I think THAAD is not (designed) for attack but is a purely defensive weapon. I think it is appropriate that our government decided to have such measure,” said Ban during a visit to a South Korean naval base on Sunday.
Another likely conservative candidate Nam Kyung-pil, the governor of Gyeonggi Province, offered conditional support for THAAD, with the clear understanding that it will be used only against a possible North Korean missile attack and not against China or other countries in the region.
“The THAAD deployment is for (protecting) the Korean Peninsula and is a measure for our defense, but there has to be a promise that it will not be upgraded,” Nam told reporters at a press briefing on Monday…
