Likely ROK presidential candidate Ban Ki-moon is differentiating himself from his rivals by strongly back the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system to South Korea:
Former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, center, on Sunday examines the wreckage of the ill-fated corvette Cheonan on display at the Navy’s 2nd Fleet Command in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi. [YONHAP]Former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon threw his weight behind the installation of a U.S. advanced missile defense system on Sunday in a move to woo security-sensitive conservatives in what is seen as his journey toward the Blue House.
During his visit to the Navy’s 2nd Fleet Command in Pyeongtaek in Gyeonggi, 60 kilometers (37 miles) south of Seoul, the former UN chief said Seoul needs to set up the U.S.-made missile defense system on its soil to protect itself from North Korea’s provocations, adding the missile was purely defense in nature, a remark apparently intended to appease Beijing’s anger toward the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) system in Seongju County, North Gyeongsang, set to be complete by the end of this year. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
