South Korea’s newly elected president, Moon Jae-in, has suspended the deployment of an American missile defense system, an apparent concession to China and a significant break with the United States on policy toward North Korea.
In comments to reporters, a senior official from the presidential Blue House in Seoul said on Wednesday that the two launchers of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system that had been installed could remain but that four launchers that had yet to be deployed would not be set up until the administration completed an environmental assessment.
The missile defense system, known as Thaad, has been contentious in South Korea and has drawn sharp criticism from China, which views the system’s radar as a threat. Beijing has taken retaliatory economic measures against Seoul, including curtailing the flow of Chinese tourists and punishing South Korean companies in China.
I'm not surprised the system installation is paused because the US tried to force it through while SK was still in the election phase of their new president during the political turmoil. However, I'm not exactly seeing a downside to having the defense systems in place except that it pisses off China? It certainly helps against any craziness that might come from NK.
Doesn't really stop anything from NK. The problem facing SK from the north is the artillery systems pointing their way. THAAD won't do a damn thing if NK decides to start lobbing shells at the tens of millions of people in range of their artillery.I'm not surprised the system installation is paused because the US tried to force it through while SK was still in the election phase of their new president during the political turmoil. However, I'm not exactly seeing a downside to having the defense systems in place except that it pisses off China? It certainly helps against any craziness that might come from NK.
Doesn't really stop anything from NK. The problem facing SK from the north is the artillery systems pointing their way. THAAD won't do a damn thing if NK decides to start lobbing shells at the tens of millions of people in range of their artillery.
I know very well that the biggest threat from NK is the thousands of pieces of artillery they have pointed at Seoul but they would be firing rockets and missiles as well. Their long range capability is non-existent right now since they keep failing their tests but their short range is capable.
As for escalating tensions with NK, anything escalates the tensions from holding training exercises to fleet movements.
stopping all the missiles is not going to save a single square inch of seoul.
I wonder if some of the consideration was intercepting nuclear armed missiles. It will likely still be a bit before NK can fit them in an artillery shell
artillery or nuke, Seoul is toast either way.
I wouldn't say that. I have some faith in our intelligence community and SK's intelligence community. Coordination of thousands of pieces of artillery pieces will result in a lot of chatter. It's not a video game where you just click attack and everything shoots if it is in range. I have a feeling that if NK actually goes totally insane and decides to attack, it will be snuffed out beforehand. Which means we will preemptively strike at the majority of their artillery pieces from the sky. Will there be damage to Seoul? Most likely, but I don't think it would leveled. Missiles can be fired from deeper in NK territory so they may end up being secondary objectives compared to the artillery at the border. With THAAD they can be intercepted, giving the armed forces time to finish their primary objective before moving on.
artillery or nuke, Seoul is toast either way.
If SK installed this it could escalate tensions with nk. I know the modern american conservative is willing to risk millions of south korean lives in a bid for war with nk but sk isnt willing to do that.
It's easy to talk tough when you aren't in the shadow of death.
I have a different perspective. It would be difficult to imagine SK being safer for any actions on its part. Consider Kim. He is a homicidal dictator comfortable with exterminating his own family for seemingly frivolous or paranoid reasons. He kills them because he can. Then we have to wonder about his relationship with his people. They have been programmed, and that's the word, to love him and everyone else is inherently evil or at the least never to be trusted. THAAD would not significantly change this equation because when Kim feels the urge to kill on a larger scale he'll just order a million or so of his people to their death, then have a nice meal. His behavior is consistent with psychopathy, a dangerous version indeed. Implementing THAAD might hasten the eventuality, but if he's going to attack he will. Also consider the premise behind the Munich Agreement of Chamberlain's making. The bottom line was to not escalate tensions with Hitler. That didn't work out, and yes Kim is just as bad, perhaps crazier than Hitler, Godwin notwithstanding.
China is a factor but in other times they might have been less uncomfortable and SK not as concerned about their relationship with them but here's the rub, Trump. Once the system is in place there is no way to prevent the US from using the system to peer into China quite boldly. That does change the situation in the region and having token control of such a political hot potato is not something SK leadership wants.
Yeah, Trump.
That is the real kicker and concept for change all over the globe.. cause how do we breed our leaders? power is not given it is taken... and what we do is we destill that concept all the way to the top, and then wonder afterwards 'how the hell did we vote that psycopath into office'? - a psycopath that could care less about the lives lost in a war and more about what power he would stand to gains/loose over the outcome. I say we test our leaders for the psychopath gene beford actually letting the i to office.Yeah, I mean, some people are incredibly brave with other people's lives.
Kim doesn't strike me as notably different than any other dictator. I doubt he's more pathological than Trump, probably less.
I have a different perspective. It would be difficult to imagine SK being safer for any actions on its part. Consider Kim. He is a homicidal dictator comfortable with exterminating his own family for seemingly frivolous or paranoid reasons. He kills them because he can. Then we have to wonder about his relationship with his people. They have been programmed, and that's the word, to love him and everyone else is inherently evil or at the least never to be trusted. THAAD would not significantly change this equation because when Kim feels the urge to kill on a larger scale he'll just order a million or so of his people to their death, then have a nice meal. His behavior is consistent with psychopathy, a dangerous version indeed. Implementing THAAD might hasten the eventuality, but if he's going to attack he will. Also consider the premise behind the Munich Agreement of Chamberlain's making. The bottom line was to not escalate tensions with Hitler. That didn't work out, and yes Kim is just as bad, perhaps crazier than Hitler, Godwin notwithstanding.
China is a factor but in other times they might have been less uncomfortable and SK not as concerned about their relationship with them but here's the rub, Trump. Once the system is in place there is no way to prevent the US from using the system to peer into China quite boldly. That does change the situation in the region and having token control of such a political hot potato is not something SK leadership wants.
Yeah, Trump.
it's north korea. shit probably doesn't work.Their artillery is behind blast doors dug into a granite mountain. not exactly easily destroyed. And I hope no one goes nuclear.
To the best of my knowledge Trump hasn't murdered his family or ordered the opposition executed. The difference between Kim and say Duarte, Kim was raised from birth to believe he is akin to a god and that he has the right of ownership of NK and it's people. More than belief he acts on it with great fervor.
This is a bunch of armchair.txt
If sk wants to engage with nk they will vote in leaders who will do that. If not they won't. We shouldn't tinker with a volitile situation because of our gut. We already broke the middle east doing that. It's time to learn that violence is the last step not the first or second.
artillery or nuke, Seoul is toast either way.