Tag: missile defense

A ROK Drop favorite Bruce Klingner has an article published which provides his response to critics of the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system to South Korea:

South Korea critics claim fears of radiation risks from the missile shield’s radar, saying it would kill bees and irradiate melons. The U.S. invited South Korean media to the missile shield’s deployment site on Guam for independent tests. Measured levels of the electromagnetic waves emanating from the radar revealed the system operates at an intensity far safer than required by Korean law, i.e. the radar emitted only 0.007 percent of the 10 watts per square meter allowed under Korean standards. Rep. Madeleine Bordallo, D-Guam, told South Korean reporters that there have been no signs of environmental impact nor any noise complaints from the defense system’s deployment on the island.

Critics fail to understand that North Korea will continue to develop nuclear-tipped missiles regardless of whether the advanced defense system is deployed or not. If THAAD were to intercept even one North Korean nuclear missile, it would save hundreds of thousands of South Korean and U.S. lives.  [The Daily Signal]

You can read more at the link, but Mr. Klingner is absolutely correct that North Korea is going to continue to develop their nuclear and missile programs regardless of what happens with the THAAD issue.

Here is the latest on the THAAD protesting front.  Only getting 2,000 protesters in Seoul to include people that were bused in from Seongju is not very impressive.  This is not a good sign for the Korean left if they think the anti-THAAD issue is something that can evolve into another 2008 US beef crisis:

Protesters, especially residents of the farming region of Seongju, fear the system’s powerful radar will be harmful to their health as well as the environment and the economy despite insistence by U.S. and South Korean officials that it is safe. Many also accuse the government of a lack of transparency in making the decision.

About 2,000 people, including many bused in from Seongju, rallied outside the main train station in the capital, Seoul, on Thursday. Wearing yellow capes and waving banners that said “No THAAD,” they called on the government to reverse its decision. Many protesters refused to talk to the media.

A small group of THAAD supporters gathered nearby. “This is very important for the national security,” said Jaechul Ahn, chairman of the World Peace Freedom United group. “We should know that North Korea never changes their goal of the colonization of the whole peninsula.”  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link.

Leftmost sign's logic: "I don't want to live in fear of Chinese missiles and Russian bombs. Oppose THAAD!" @WonkVJ pic.twitter.com/A8fOpSEjyy

— Andrew NK (@northkoreafront) July 18, 2016

Why isn’t the Korean left busy protesting this radar and claiming it will make people sick and cause crop failures?:

A U.S. Patriot missile battery in Japan has been brought to South Korea for a joint exercise amid growing concerns about additional provocations from North Korea, an official of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said, Friday.

The Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC)-3 interceptor unit of the U.S. Forces Japan (USFJ), stationed at the Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, arrived in Busan on July 13 and is now participating in a drill with South Korean military in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province.

The Patriot unit is made up of 120 troops, with a launch vehicle and radar.

It is the first time a Japan-based U.S. Patriot battery has been sent to South Korea.

“The PAC-3 unit is currently training with South Korean troops,” the USFK official told reporters. “The unit will return to Japan after completing the training scheduled to last two weeks.” [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link as well as over at the Stars & Stripes.

The US and ROK militaries have a number of Patriot sites in South Korea and the Korean left does not protest them because there is no political advantage in doing so like there is with the planned deployment of the THAAD battery to Korea.  The Patriots have been South Korea for decades and no one is getting sick or having their crops fail.  The same will eventually be true with the THAAD battery as well.

The Korean government has realized that the only card the protesters of the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system have to play is that the electromagnetic waves from the radar will harm people.  This is a well used tactic by leftists protesters and their media allies which worked brilliantly for them in 2008 when they passed off lies about US beef that nearly toppled then President Lee Myung-Bak:

The U.S. military will open its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) base in Guam to the South Korean media next week in an effort to dispel concerns here over deployment of the anti-missile system, according to military sources, Wednesday.

“The U.S. Army will open its THAAD facilities in Guam to South Korean journalists from July 17 to 19,” a military official said. “It will help them understand how the battery is operated and address any concerns about safety issues.”

It is the first time the U.S. Army has allowed foreign media access to the THAAD facilities, according to the official.

The South Korean military said journalists from seven outlets, including Hankyoreh and the Chosun Ilbo, will visit the base.

The move is seen as an attempt to quell controversy in South Korea over a THAAD deployment and ease public concerns over potentially harmful electromagnetic waves from the X-band radar that comes with the system. [Korea Times]

Here is the part of the article that I have been saying for months, the ROK already has air defense radars deployed around the country and no one protested them:

“Questions over harmful effects of electromagnetic waves emitted from THAAD’s X-band radar have been raised,” a defense ministry official said. “But they are no stronger than patriot or green pine radar. We are hoping to ease safety concerns surrounding the THAAD system.”

You can read more at the link.

As far as what I have read in the media USFK has never publicly said that the THAAD deployment to South Korea was intended to defend Seoul.  The deployment has always been pitched as adding protection against longer range missiles the North Koreans have fielded that the Patriot missile system cannot intercept.  North Korea is not going to use a long range missile on Seoul when shorter range missiles and artillery can strike the capitol city.  Where they would use their longer range missiles is against Busan thus why THAAD needs to be positioned in the southern area of the Korean peninsula:

Along with the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) system to South Korea, military authorities are working on a separate missile defense plan to protect Seoul and the surrounding area from attack by Pyongyang.

A high-ranking Korean military official told the JoongAng Ilbo on Monday, “There is a high likelihood that the final site for the Thaad system, which Korea and the U.S. are deciding on now, may be a location that might make it difficult to protect the Seoul metropolitan area, so we are making preparations.”

A working group established by Seoul and Washington to discuss the placement of the U.S. Forces Korea anti-missile system began in March. During the initial discussion over where to place a Thaad battery, Korea proposed a site in the central region. Washington preferred a more southern site to cover Busan, the site of the U.S. Naval Forces Korea headquarters, and its other military assets.

One government official familiar with the negotiation process over Thaad said, “The United States has said that the Thaad battery had to be out of reach of North Korea’s new 300 multiple rocket launch system, which has a range of 200 kilometers (124 miles), and in an emergency situation, should protect U.S. military personnel.”

The official continued, “The specific location cannot be revealed, but to my knowledge, the Thaad will be deployed to a southern-central region so that in case of an emergency it can protect the Busan port and other areas that will be used by U.S. troops from North Korea’s missile attack.”  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link.

That is what editorial writer Oh Young-jin for the Korea Times thinks:

The ongoing controversy over the terminal high-altitude area defense (THAAD), the U.S.-made missile defense system, has similarities with the mad cow crisis.

The THAAD case could be as explosive in its consequences as the U.S. beef case. Already, the citizens of the areas that are reported to be on the shortlist of candidates are up in arms, some organizing committees and others pressuring their political representatives. It is the exhibition of the selfish “not-in-my-backyard” mentality. But they can’t be blamed for not wanting to be targeted by the first wave of North Korean attacks that concentrate on strategic military assets such as THAAD or the expected losses in their property values.

Making their protests as political as the mad cow protests is the fact that the country is about to enter an election cycle ahead of the December 2017 presidential poll. Buffeted in not-so-small measures by the THAAD brouhaha, President Park Geun-hye saw her approval ratings fall dramatically. Especially noteworthy is the record low of popular support in her regional power centers in North Gyeongsang Province and Daegu. Chilgok and Waegwan, both in North Gyeongsang Province, are reportedly included on the shortlist.

Even if the THAAD controversy doesn’t lead to the massive protests that the U.S. beef incident did, a strong impact could be felt at the ballot boxes. Already, lawmakers from Park’s governing Saenuri Party are agitated, with some making clear their opposition to the THAAD development. Certainly in their calculus are more minuses than pluses for the chances of their party’s standard bearer to win the December 2017 election.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but what Oh Young-jin misses is that despite the protests created by the lies about US beef pushed by leftist groups and their media allies South Korean conservatives still won the next election.  This largely because the lies were exposed for what they were.  The protests against THAAD are the same thing people pushing lies.  Just like other radars, the THAAD system has a safe keep out zone that the military will position so that it will not harm anyone.  The ROK military currently has Patriot and Green Pine radars positioned around the country and we saw no protests about those because there was no political incentive to lie about the safety of those radars like we are seeing with THAAD.

I wonder how the ROK military plans to keep the location a secret?  I have no doubt the location will quickly be leaked to the media one THAAD deploys to South Korea:

Han responded to China’s discontent over THAAD being placed on South Korean soil and concerns that it could worsen the relationship between South Korea and China, saying the two countries should strengthen their talks.

Han said that the site for the THAAD deployment will be announced soon, but the specific location will not be made public due to military secrecy.  [Yonhap]

It looks like the “Not In My Backyard” crowd has already started protesting the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system to South Korea:

The official announcement of deployment of an advanced U.S. missile defense system in Korea is bringing a huge backlash from residents of areas which are rumored to be candidate sites for the system.

People in the regions claim the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) will pose serious health risks to them and environmental damage due to strong electromagnetic waves.

Immediately after the announcement Friday, residents in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, and Waegwan of Chilgok County in North Gyeongsang Province, the two key candidate locations, expressed vehement opposition.

A coalition of 25 civic groups in Pyeongtaek, where the United States Forces Korea (USKF) headquarters will be moved, said they will hold a press conference on July 19 to announce their protest plans to block the possible deployment there.

“The noise and electromagnetic waves emanating from THAAD radar will pose grave health threats to residents here,” the coalition said in a statement.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but like most Korean protests these people are blatantly lying to get public sentiment behind them.  Anyone can Google and find out the safe keep out zones for the THAAD radar.  In fact it is published in the draft Environmental Assessment document for the THAAD unit on Guam that can be downloaded at this link.  Here is an excerpt from the document that discusses the safe keep out zones for the radar:

After what has seemed like never-ending negotiations the US and the ROK have agreed to finally deploy a THAAD missile defense system to South Korea:

South Korea and the United States agreed to deploy a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery here, the two allies announced Friday, drawing protests from China and throwing the Korean Peninsula into geopolitical turmoil.

“The Republic of Korea (ROK) and the United States made an alliance decision to deploy THAAD to U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) as a defensive measure to ensure the security of the ROK and its people,” the Ministry of Defense and the USFK said in a joint statement.

It said the deployment of the advanced U.S. missile defense system is to protect alliance military forces from North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile threats.

The two are “working closely to ensure the swift deployment of THAAD” and will develop specific operational procedures, it said.

Several hours after the announcement, China denounced both Seoul and Washington, with its foreign ministry expressing “strong discontent and firm opposition” against the two countries’ agreement. [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but according to the article the locations being considered for hosting the THAAD site are Pyeongtaek, Wonju, Waegwan and Eumseong County in North Chungcheong Province.  It will be interesting to see if the Korean left will try and demagogue and launch Camp Humphreys expansion style protests against the building of the THAAD site.

It will also be interesting to see if the Chinese try to retaliate against the ROK in some way?  Considering how the Chinese continue to funnel cash and goods to the Kim regime despite sanctions, they have no creditability to oppose this deployment.