PRESS RELEASE
Korean Opposition: ‘Impeach THAAD’—China Prepares Counter-Measures
March 15, 2017 (EIRNS)—The U.S. rush to deploy its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missiles in South Korea in the midst of political chaos in the country, is creating a major destabilization across the region. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is arriving in Japan tonight, and will go to South Korea Friday and China on Saturday and Sunday, where he will meet with President Xi Jin Ping, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and State Councilor Yang Jiechi. Although the official U.S. position is that THAAD deployment is irreversible, it is still possible President Trump will consider using it as a bargaining chip in order to get serious talks on North Korea started, taking advantage of the fully new environment between the U.S., China, Russia, Japan, and South Korea, to reverse Obama’s insane refusal to talk to the North, driving them to proceed with nuclear weapon development.
In the meantime, with the election in South Korea now set for May 9 (60 days after the Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment of Park Geun-hye), members of the opposition parties, having successfully impeached the President, have turned their attention and their tactics to stopping the THAAD deployment. Xinhua reports today:
"Key figures of various social standings as well as civic group activists in South Korea on Wednesday demanded the ‘impeachment’ of THAAD by people power, which had ousted former President Park Geun-hye."
The opposition issued a resolution calling for the population to "join their fight for peace in the Korean Peninsula and against the THAAD deployment in their soil," and called on presidential contenders to call for removing the missile system, which is now in the country but not yet deployed to the chosen site. The resolution calls THAAD "the worst catastrophe in security and diplomatic policies" under the Park regime. "When all public attentions were being centered on the impeachment ruling, [acting] Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn went ahead with the THAAD deployment step by step," said Jeong Youn-soon, chair of Lawyers for Democratic Society, an advocacy group composed of lawyers. He called for the "power of the candle" (candle light parades) to stop THAAD as it stopped Park.
China continues attacking the THAAD deployment, including imposing new sanctions against tourism to South Korea. PLA retired general Wang Hongguang said today that China could counter the THAAD by using its own anti-radar technology.
“We will complete our deployment before THAAD begins operations. There is no need to wait for two months [before the election of the next South Korean president]. We already have such equipment in place. We just have to move it to the right spot."
Similarly, air force expert Fu Qianshao told SCMP that Beijing would send planes near THAAD to obstruct the system’s long-range radar signals.
