World Affairs
Gordon G. Chang
Feb. 3, 2017
James Mattis, the new secretary of defense, spoke to his South Korean counterpart Tuesday, confirming to Defense Minister Han Min-koo the US commitment to defend his country “against the evolving North Korean threat.”
>
Beijing has taken advantage of the political uncertainty to try to reverse Park’s decision on the missile-defense system. China has, to this end, imposed not insubstantial costs on the South Korean economy, most notably,stopping charter flights between China and the South, limiting Chinese tourists going to the South, barring South Korea’s K-pop groups from performing in China, and prohibiting the import of South Korean cosmetics. South Koreans fear Beijing will turn up the heat should Seoul continue with its decision to deploy. China is the South’s largest trading partner, so Beijing’s actions have made South Korea jittery.
The Chinese are not the only group to exploit Park’s worsening predicament. The South’s so-called “progressives”—in reality, leftists—have been energized by developments and are now leading the race to capture the Blue House in the next presidential election, to be held this year. Should they win, they will undoubtedly stop THAAD deployment, thereby emboldening China to help North Korea even more.
More...
http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/blog/gordon-g-chang/missile-defense-north-asia-security-mattiss-agendaComplementary to
http://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php/topic,247751.0.html
