ROK Government Plans to Wait Until Protesters Remove Blockade Before Allowing Deployment of THAAD Launchers
I would not be surprised if the Moon administration is trying to appease the US and the Korean right by saying they are approving the deployment of four additional THAAD launchers while not actually letting them on the site because of the blockade built by protesters. This in turn would appease their left wing base by not letting the launchers on to the site:
A Defense Ministry official here said Tuesday, “The deployment of additional launchers will be handled through a transparent process. That entails convincing local residents and notifying them beforehand of the deployment.” He added, “That means we will not deploy them by surprise in the middle of the night as the first two THAAD launchers were in Seongju in April.”
A Cheong Wa Dae official said, “We will convince local residents and then deploy the THAAD launchers according to the agreement between the defense ministries of both countries.”
But that could take a long time since locals continue to protest. “There is no way that the government will send in riot police to ensure the deployment,” a government source said. [Chosun Ilbo]
You can read more at the link, but what does everyone else think? Does anyone think the protesters will drop their blockade and let the launchers access the THAAD site?
To me it sounds like Moon’s announcement is a green light to the protesters, as in – if you guys camp out and maintain it, we never have to actually deploy the missile defense. But once the nation’s security is being held hostage by a hundred or so people in tents, the political calculus rapidly becomes starkly obvious, and they would have to be forcibly moved back. To me it looks Moon is, as always, simply playing for time, hoping that NK will do something that allows him to “move forward” with his unification agenda, which is looking increasingly threadbare and stuck in the past.
Moon is a complete moron. The ROKs need to be clearing the road of the communist and deploying the remaining launchers. THAAD isn’t here for the US’s entertainment, it is protecting Korea. If they don’t want it, let’s pull all our forces out and let them defend themselves.
THAAD IS there for U.S.’s protection, but it comes in a package deal for the Korean government. The U.S. will deploy THAAD in exchange for 64 years of our defensive umbrella.
At any rate, the Moon administration’s silly excuses are laughable. “Environmental Impact Study”? “Blockade by protestors”? Talk about getting stuck at the first twig n the road. These are the same excuses that I would expect from a private, not the Korean Commander in Chief.
I suppose it should be expected by the leader of the world’s 14th largest economy and only OECD country to have a huge U.S. military base in the center of it’s capital.
By the way, a Chinook can airlift 25K lbs. I’m guessing the THAAD batteries weigh more than that?