“I find it preposterous that China would try to wedge itself between South Korea and the United States for a missile system created to defend Americans and Koreans on the peninsula”, Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr., commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. “We considered their proposal, but also made clear that denuclearization had to be part of any discussions”.
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While Seoul and Washington have reportedly been weighing up enhancing missile defense in South Korea for some time, they began preparations for official negotiations in response to North Korea’s long-range rocket launch earlier this month.
North Korea is once again threatening to attack US personnel and the USA homeland if joint military exercises with South Korea seem to be a danger to their dear leader. The greatest problem is that the two sides’ distrust of each other runs so deep.
More talk is being heard around Washington about sanctions against North Korea as reports surface about its increasing cyberattacks against South Korean targets.
In 1994, the Clinton administration pulled back from the brink of war with North Korea and signed an Agreed Framework with Pyongyang that opened up the prospect of the resumption of diplomatic relations. “In a society without internet, with total government censorship, and with no independent media, North Koreans rely on these little pieces of plastic”.
“The deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system (THAAD) is a measure of self-defense against growing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea”, presidential spokesman Jeong Yeon-Guk said.
The North habitually claims that the annual Key Resolve/Foal Eagle exercise is a rehearsal for invasion while Seoul and Washington say it is purely defensive.
South Korea’s education ministry acknowledges that there are likely to be delays, and has told schools to relax their dress codes until there are enough uniforms to go around.
China and Russian Federation have expressed their opposition to the deployment of THAAD in South Korea, saying the missile system could hamper their strategic interests.
The US and South Korea are planning to sign a deal on placing a US THAAD anti-ballistic missile defense system in the country.
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Speaking on February 12, Wang said China would support a United Nations resolution to make North Korea “pay the necessary price” for its nuclear test and rocket launch.
