This is an issue I hope at some point the Trump administration confronts the Moon administration on because this blockade of the THAAD site is ridiculous and could be ended at any time by the Korean government:
Tractors block the road to the site of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery
“The buildings we have weren’t built to house soldiers,” she said. “It’s not unlivable, but it’s not nice.”
She says the protesters not only force her troops to fly in and out every week via helicopter, but also stop U.S. vehicles from shipping in goods and supplies.
“Currently, the only way on and off of the site is by helicopter,” she said. “A week at a time at least, every single one of my soldiers is away from their barracks room, their family.”
She said if the gates weren’t blocked they wouldn’t require the extended rotations and could keep more people at Carroll, which is only a 25-minute drive away.
Spc. Josiah Welch, a THAAD operator, said conditions have improved since he started at the site in November.
“There was pretty bad mold initially,” said the 25-year old from Winter Park, Fla. “There was a week where we didn’t have running water – we had baby wipe showers.”
Now they have air conditioning and showers, he said.
The military finally began shipping fresh food three times week last month, reducing some reliance on pre-prepared field rations, Theilacker said. [Stars & Stripes]
Via a reader tip comes this update on the status of the THAAD site in Seongju:
Tractors block the road to the site of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery
The setup of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery from the U.S. in southwestern Korea has been on hold since September last year as locals and activists block access to the site.
“There’s been no progress in the construction of THAAD facilities, as well as the quarters for U.S. troops,” who are to operate the battery, a military spokesman told reporters Monday.
Seoul and Washington agreed in September 2016 to deploy THAAD interceptor launchers at a former golf course in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province. The U.S. Forces Korea brought two launchers last April and four more last September.
A USFK source claimed the South Korean government appears to be neglecting the deployment, which has been widely unpopular.
A steel barricade set up by activist groups and locals last April still blocks the road near the THAAD deployment site.
According to police, about 10 locals check passing vehicles in tag teams of two around the clock to block any USFK vehicles or trucks carrying equipment.
Although this is highly illegal, police seem to have done nothing .
“We’ll resolutely clamp down on illegal demonstrations,” a police spokesman said. “But it’s our principle not to stoke upheavals.”
Police have drastically reduced their presence at the site. About 300 troops from four police companies were deployed last September, but now only some 80 are on standby some 4 km away.
The USFK is reduced to running the THAAD battery as if in a field maneuver, on generators fueled by diesel flown in by helicopter. [Chosun Ilbo]
You can read more at the link, but resupplying the site by helicopter seems to me to be riskier than by a ground approach. If a helicopter was to crash I wonder if that will change the situation on the ground any?
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?
Via a reader tip comes news that the ROK military may finally be the ones to end the ridiculous blockade of the THAAD site in Seongju:
South Korea’s defense ministry said Thursday it is mulling an alternative to dialogue with activists and residents near the U.S. military’s new missile defense base on the peninsula.
They have been blocking the transport of construction materials and equipment into the THAAD site in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, for months.
They are concerned that the military will expand helipads and other facilities associated with military operations in the compound.
The Ministry of National Defense stressed that it’s urgent to improve the living conditions of hundreds of American and South Korean troops there with no adequate amenities.
“In connection with the deployment of the THAAD system, we have tried to respect residents’ opinion as much as possible, abide by democratic procedures and maintain transparency,” the ministry’s spokeswoman Choi Hyun-soo said at a press briefing.
However, it’s believed to be difficult to resolve the issue through dialogue, she said, adding that the military plans to seek a “necessary measure.”
The statement was a de facto ultimatum, although no deadline has been set publicly.
It heralds a police operation to disperse the protesters and clear the way for the delivery. A fierce physical clash is expected. [Yonhap]
The way I look at it, as long as the ROK government continues to allow the protesters to block the road and artificially make sustainment costs for THAAD more expensive they should pay for it:
South Korea’s defense ministry said Friday that the cost of operating a U.S. missile defense system installed in the South may be covered using part of Seoul’s new share of upkeep costs for U.S. forces stationed here.
The U.S. could demand South Korea shoulder some costs needed to run and keep the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system as the allies are in discussion to renew their five-year deal on defense cost-sharing.
“If the U.S. side hopes to use Seoul’s share of the U.S. forces upkeep costs to cover THAAD’s operation, it may be possible to use it within the total amount of the South’s share in accordance with sectoral needs and regulations,” the ministry said in a statement.
It could potentially spark a row as it marks a sharp difference from the government’s stance that South Korea will not bear any of the costs associated with THAAD. [Yonhap]
It will be interesting to see if the protesters allow the additional THAAD equipment on to the site considering the blockade they have been maintaining. Will the Moon administration be willing to send in police to forcibly remove grandmas and grandpas off of the road? We are about to find out:
South Korea is poised to complete the installment of a US missile shield next week, officials said Friday, despite unabated controversy over the Moon Jae-in government’s flip-flopping on the timing of the deployment.
The stationing of the remaining four launchers of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system comes as the Environment Ministry wraps up a small-scale environmental review. The equipment will join the already operational two launchers, radar and other assets to form a full-fledged battery.
The move will also coincide with a maiden face-to-face meeting between South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo and US Secretary of Defense James Mattis, set for Wednesday in Washington.
“Currently a small-scale environmental impact assessment is under way, and I can’t say it for certain, but the results are likely to come out around Monday,” a Cheong Wa Dae official told reporters on customary condition of anonymity.
The Ministry of National Defense echoed the view, saying the four launchers and related apparatus will be brought to the site in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, as soon as the survey is finished. [Korea Herald]
My guess would be this apology must be something the ROK government recommended to USFK to do in order to get the protesters to stop blockading the road considering it is happening four months after the fact. I guess we will see if this will help lead to the end of the blockade:
Lt. Gen. Thomas Vandal, commander of the 8th U.S. Army, apologized Sunday to the people of Seongju over one of his soldiers using a smartphone to film a protest involving physical clashes, smiling as he did so.
The Seongju residents rejected Vandal’s apology, saying it was four months too late.
First, Vandal and his superior officer, U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) commander Gen. Vincent Brooks, should find a better way of dealing with this incident. The protesters should stop using the apology issue for political purposes.
The incident happened in the early hours of April 26 when a convoy of U.S. military vehicles pushed their way through to deliver equipment for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery, a U.S. missile interceptor, to the site in the vicinity. Twelve people were injured. A GI in one vehicle was caught filming the scene with a snigger on his face.
For that, Vandal went down to Seongju and bowed at a press conference after the residents refused to meet him. He said the soldier’s behavior was inappropriate and that he was fresh on his Korean tour and had not finished his orientation program.
The residents questioned Vandal’s sincerity because his apology came four months after the incident, despite repeated demands. The residents claimed they felt ignored by Vandal.
Vandal should have apologized earlier. The USFK is often belated in dealing with accidents in relation to Koreans. One example is the 2002 Yangju Highway Incident where a U.S. military vehicle crushed two Korean girls to death. Then, the USFK dragged its feet, letting the incident grow out of proportion in a major PR fiasco. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but the Korea Times in regards to the 2002 Yangju Highway Incident do not know what they are talking about. Both the 8th Army commander and the 2nd Infantry Division commander apologized after the accident happened. 2ID even paid an initial $1,000 payment to the families to assist with funeral expenses. Then 2ID soldiers held a candlelight vigil and fundraising drive in honor of the two girls that were tragically killed. The fundraiser raised $22,000 for the families.
Finally the USFK commander put the soldiers on court martial strictly for PR purposes despite this being a clear accident. Anyway much more about the 2002 accident can be read at the below link:
Here is an interesting read in the Korea Times about how solar energy farms in South Korea are destroying the environment and impacting the livelihood of farmers:
Solar energy facilities installed in mountainous areas near the rural village of Cheoncheon, North Jeolla Province, are seen in this Aug. 21, 2019, file photo. Korea Times photo by Kim Joo-young.
Thousands of solar energy facilities have been built in rural mountainous regions in recent years, in line with a government policy to increase the ratio of renewable energy sources in the country’s energy mix.
However, many of them have become danger zones as the removal of trees for their construction has heightened the possibility of landslides, becoming a major headache for local residents during the nation’s annual rainy season. What is of more concern is that the installations are feared to end up destroying the landscape and environment through massive deforestation.
Seokdong Village in Gangjin County, South Jeolla Province, is one such village, where over 25,400 square meters of forest there were cut down to install solar panels in 2016.
But since then, soil has been washed away from the facilities during each summer’s rainy season, and in July this year two meters of stone embankments and 20 meters of barbed wire fencing collapsed.
“As the rain poured in July, the solar facilities collapsed and the village’s rice paddies were completely flooded. Fortunately, nobody was on site and hurt but if there had been, it would have caused many casualties,” Lim Jun-hyung, the village head, told The Korea Times, Friday. “The company that installed the panels won’t come to fix it for months, no matter how many times we call them. I can’t even stand the sight of those panels now.”
You can read more at the link, but what is ironic is that the Korean government is blaming global warming for the flooding and not the fact that huge swaths of forest were cut down to put in these solar farms. I also find it interesting that these farmers are not protesting and blockading these solar farms like the farmers blockading the THAAD site are which has done absolutely nothing to their crops.
By the way I am actually impressed the Korea Times actually published an article like this critical of solar farms. Generally it seems the media doesn’t want to report anything negative about green energy projects.
There is a new book out and of course to create traction in the media with it the author has to claim that President Trump is an idiot:
During that conversation, Wead wrote, Trump reiterated his belief that Obama would have gone to war with the North had he stayed in office.
“And I also think that thirty to one hundred million people could have been killed,” Wead quoted the president as saying.
South Korea has 51.2 million people and North Korea has a population of 25 million.
Trump then expressed disbelief at experts’ predictions that 100,000-200,000 people would die, a number he said was the equivalent of the population of a South Korean village.
“Well, as you know, Seoul, the capital city, is right by the so-called border,” he continued, according to Wead. “And that is a tough border by the way. An impenetrable border. And Seoul has a population of thirty million people. Kim has ten thousand guns, artillery, they call them cannons. He doesn’t even need a nuclear weapon to create one of the greatest calamities in history.”
When I read Trump’s comments I clearly understood that when he was talking about Seoul he was referencing the Seoul metropolitan area. The Seoul city center has 10 million, but the metro area has 25 million. Also when he is talking about upwards of 100 million casualties how do we know he wasn’t including if a nuclear weapon was dropped on Tokyo or other major cities? It is context like this that is important, but to get media attention he must be described as an idiot, so mission accomplished by this author.
The only real idiots are whoever told him a war on the Korean peninsula would only lead to 100,000 to 200,000 deaths. If they did not use nukes I could maybe understand that number, but I find it hard to believe that if North Korea went all in and used nuclear weapons, that only that many people would die.
A quote I did find interesting that may explain why President Trump is pushing so hard on the Moon administration on USFK cost sharing is the status of the THAAD battery in South Korea:
“Do you know how much we spend defending South Korea? Four and half billion dollars a year. Figure that one out?” he added.
Trump has reportedly demanded that South Korea raise its contribution to shared defense costs to US$5 billion next year, a five-fold increase from this year.
Trump also complained to Wead that the people who treated the U.S. the worst were its allies.
“And you’ve heard the story with South Korea with the missiles system, with the THAAD anti-missile system?” he was quoted as saying.
I read that to mean that he is not happy about how the Moon administration is allowing the blockade of the road to the THAAD battery to occur. ROK Heads may remember that the road is still blocked and all supplies and personnel to the battery have to be flown in by helicopter. The battery though there to protect South Koreans is frequently used by Moon’s leftist allies to promote wild conspiracy theories and anti-Americanism.
Trump we have seen has a long memory when it comes to things he does not like and maybe the THAAD issue is something he is still unhappy about and influencing the cost sharing talks?
One of my favorite defector groups, Fighters for A Free North Korea have been quiet during the Moon administration which is not friendly to defector groups. The Korean police have been sent to stop their balloon launch operations while at the same time the Moon administration allows protesters to blockade the THAAD site which is there to defend the country.
In this file photo, taken Oct. 10, 2017, and provided by Fighters for a Free North Korea, members of the civic group prepare to send balloons carrying anti-North Korea leaflets across the border in Gimpo, northwest of Seoul.
However, it appears that with the steep drop in President Moon’s popularity and the fact more people are realizing that the Kim regime will not denuclearize has given them an opportunity to restart their balloon operations:
The group, Fighters for a Free North Korea, flew 20 balloons carrying 500,000 leaflets from Yeoncheon, north of Seoul, at around 2 a.m., it said. The balloons carried leaflets slamming the Kim Jong-un regime, as well as one-dollar bills and booklets. Park Sang-hak, the head of the organization, said earlier this month that it plans to send the leaflets because the North’s leader “did not keep his promise” to give up the country’s nuclear program. The Seoul government has urged local activists to stop their leaflet campaigns, saying that they go against efforts to reduce tensions and improve ties with the North.
