THAAD

Youjung Kwon

kwon1996@gmail.com

On July 13th, the Korean Ministry of National Defense officially announced the deployment of THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) in the southeastern county of Seongju, a decision that brought up large amounts of controversy. With no end in sight to the protests, those who approve of THAAD, claiming it as a paradigm shift in the defense military system, and those discontented with the country’s disorder, still continue to collide. It’s not the first time mass protesters have gathered to publicly express their frustration. As much as THAAD triggers large amounts of dispute, it is portrayed to be a thoroughly complicated subject simultaneously affecting other countries. Through this article, we will try to clarify what THAAD is, and go beyond the bare facts to understand what the whole debate is really about.

What is THAAD? In retrospect, THAAD was first mentioned on January 15th, 2014, during a seminar held by the National Assembly, “How will we defend the North’s nuclear missiles?” THAAD, according to the Korean and US Ministry of National Defense, is defined as the following; THAAD, Terminal Altitude Area Defense, is an Anti-Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) first designed by Lockheed Martin in 1987 that intercepts ballistic nuclear missiles at its terminal phase. THAAD detects and tracks the threat that is launched from another country, and when the missile is on its way down, the THAAD missile is launched in order to stop the missile from fully landing. One THAAD missile is 6.16m long, has a diameter of 34cm, and weighs up to 900 kg.

 

Currently, Patriot-3 missiles exist as a nuclear umbrella that operates with an altitude of 40km, but if deployed, THAAD will be able to cover up to150km. The US Armed Forces in Korea plans to deploy one THAAD battery in Korea. This THAAD missile would be operated by the US forces only, and will have no relation to Korea’s defense operation control post.

Why does Korea need THAAD? In the big picture, Korea is the only country to be left divided, maintaining peace only under the Armistice Agreement in 1953. The deployment of THAAD is a joint response to North Korea’s constant testing of their missiles both on land and sea, with a definite intention to alarm US and Korea. The ongoing tension between the two countries snowballs the pressure to mount up systems of defense mechanisms. The expense for THAAD is mostly planned to be charged by the US; according to the US - South Korea Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), Korea would only need to provide the infrastructures that the THAAD would be deployed in, and the rest, including the developing, management, and maintenance would all be borne by the US. For these reasons, Korea does not need to supply any of the extra expenses, and at the same time, benefit from THAAD’s safety umbrella.

Then why is the deployment of THAAD an ongoing issue? Deployment without sufficient communication with the citizens became the first problem. As a defense, Park Geun Hye announced on July 21st, “ If there is any other defense mechanism that can save the Korean citizen from the North Korean nuclear missile, please suggest it to us,” in order to quell the citizen's anger. However, citizens doubt the true reason behind the deployment of THAAD, since it would be deployed in the US Military base, not near Seoul, where most of the Korean people’s population is situated. For these reasons, some are questioning if the real purpose of THAAD would be for the Korean people, since it would be situated in Korea.

The rise of tensions between the countries has also become another problem. Other countries’ outlook upon Korea is a crucial factor for Korea’s economy since Korea heavily relies on exports and imports amongst neighboring countries. In other words, Korea must reflect other countries’ suggestions in the deployment since some could find it unwelcoming. At the Shangri-La Dialogue held in May 2015, China had especially registered strong denunciation against the possibility of deployment because of the doubt that THAAD’s radar would be used for its original purpose. In other words, China was concerned that THAAD could use its X-band radar to intervene with China’s Anti-Access (A2) strategy, which defends China from outer threats. However, President Park Geun-hye has taken noticeably cautious efforts since 2013 in order to encourage peace between China and South Korea. Nevertheless, China seems inclined to treat South Korea as it did during the Middle Kingdom considering that China has been pressuring Korea to revoke the deployment of THAAD. This type of international intervention could hinder cooperative partnership between US, Korea, and China, and even delay the deployment of THAAD.

Korea is currently under a dilemma of whether to keep an international alliance with the US, or either to sustain the existing partnership with China. However, the core of this debate should be based not on where THAAD should be deployed, but on whether to place it in Korea at all. The only thing THAAD can be replaced by is sufficient diplomacy between all countries and even within our own country. If the genuine reason of THAAD deployment is for the safety of the citizens, there is no other better solution than peace. All countries must cooperate, in good faith, in order to persist through international unrest. The situation is grave, yet with internal and external effort, there is a way for all of us.