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SKorea presidential contender urges US missile plan rethink
Print Edition
A POSSIBLE South Korean presidential contender said yesterday his country should reconsider plans to deploy an advanced US missile defense system to cope with North Korean threats, a move Washington is likely to see as disruptive.
Liberal opposition politician Moon Jae-in said the security benefits of having Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, would be curtailed by worsened relations with neighbors China and Russia.
He downplayed concerns that South Korea backtracking on the plans would cause tension with the United States, which he said was the “most important country” for South Korea in face of nuclear-armed rival North.
“The issue of whether or not to deploy THAAD should be pushed to the next government,” Moon said in a news conference.
“Reconsidering THAAD would have to be preceded with diplomatic efforts, including diplomatic efforts with the United States. I don’t think that the reconsidering of THAAD would harm the South Korea-US alliance,” he said.
Recent opinion polls have shown Moon as a presidential favorite amid the popular anger over conservative President Park Geun-hye, whose powers were suspended after lawmakers last week voted to impeach her over an explosive corruption scandal.
South Korea’s Constitutional Court has up to six months to decide whether Park should permanently step down. If Park is formally removed from office, the country would hold a presidential election within 60 days.
Moon, who conceded the 2012 presidential race to Park, said he expected the court to rule on Park’s impeachment sometime between late January and early March, setting up a presidential election around April or May.
“It would be a huge honor for me if I can take part in the next presidential election,” Moon said.
South Korean military officials in September picked a private golf course in the country’s southeast as the site for THAAD, which was slated to be deployed by the end of next year.
They originally chose a nearby artillery base in the rural farming town of Seongju as the site for the system, but changed locations following fierce protests from locals who expressed concern over potential health hazards the system’s powerful radar might cause.
The plan to deploy THAAD in South Korea has also angered China, which suspects it would allow US radar to better track its missiles. Russia also opposes the deployment.
Moon also argued Seoul should put dialogue over sanctions in persuading Pyongyang to give up its nuclear ambitions. He rated the Park government’s hardline stance against North Korea as a “complete failure.”
“It has been confirmed that pressure and sanctions alone would not be enough to influence North Korea to give up on its nuclear weapons,” said Moon, calling for an approach of sanctions and talk.
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