Minister declares support for U.S. antimissile system
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s foreign minister indicated strongly on Monday that her government would honor an agreement to deploy a U.S. missile-defense system despite protests and economic retaliation from China.
The deployment of the antimissile battery, known as Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, had been approved under Park Geunhye, the South Korean president who was ousted on corruption charges in March. But President Moon Jae-in, who replaced Park in a special election last month, has cast doubt on the deal.
The fate of the missile battery, some of whose key components have already been installed in South Korea, had threatened to become a contentious topic when Moon meets with President Trump in Washington this week.
Since taking office, Moon has ordered his government to stop installing additional components of THAAD until it completes a domestic review, including an environmental assessment. The move provoked fears in Washington that Moon might be looking for an excuse to cancel the deal, even though he insisted that it did not mean his government would reverse the decision made under Park.
On Monday, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said the domestic review was to strengthen public support for the missile system by shoring up its political legitimacy. Calling the deployment “an alliance decision,” she said South Korea would “continue to collaborate on the basis of mutual trust.”
“My government has no intention to basically reverse the commitments made in the spirit of ” the alliance, Kang said at a forum jointly organized by the South Korean daily Joong Ang Ilbo and the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank based in Washington.
The United States and Park’s government had insisted that THAAD was necessary to guard against the growing ballistic missile threats from North Korea.
But China has vehemently criticized the THAAD deployment at its doorstep, calling it a threat to its own national security. In recent months, many South Korean brands have been boycotted in China in what was considered to be economic retaliation.
On the campaign trail, Moon expressed doubt that Park’s decision was in the country’s best interest. He also questioned whether THAAD would be effective in defending South Korea from the North’s missiles.
As he and his conservative rivals have bickered over the system, it has become a crucial test of Moon’s attitude toward the alliance with Washington. Since his election, however, Moon has sought to dispel misgivings that his government would weaken the relationship, repeatedly emphasizing its importance. With North Korea’s missile programs advancing, he has also vowed to bolster South Korea’s defense.
Kang’s remark Monday was one of the clearest indications from Moon’s government that it would honor the THAAD deal for the sake of the alliance.
Two days earlier, thousands of demonstrators briefly encircled the U.S. Embassy in Seoul during a peaceful anti-THAAD march.