Decision to deploy THAAD in S Korea triggers controversy over regional tension, effectiveness

CONTROVERSY OVER EFFECTIVENESS, OPERATIBILITY BEYOND PENINSULA

China and Russia have opposed to the THAAD deployment in South Korea as the US missile defense system far exceeds the country's actual defense needs and directly threatens the strategic security interests of the two neighboring countries.

The THAAD's radar can locate missiles far beyond the DPRK territory. The X-band radar can spot missile as far as 2,000 km with forward-based mode and 600 km with terminal mode. As the two have the same hardware, the terminal mode, which South Korea allegedly plans to adopt, can be transformed into the radar with a much longer detectable range.

Military effectiveness of the THAAD operation in the South Korean soil has been in doubt as the advanced US missile defense system is designed to track and destroy missiles at a high altitude of 40-150 km. Hundreds of DPRK missiles targeting South Korea will fly at a much lower altitude of less than 20 km.

One THAAD battery would be deployed in US Forces Korea (USFK) stationed in South Korea by the end of next year, after designating the deployment site within weeks. A battery is composed of six mobile launchers, 48 interceptors, airborne radar and fire control system.

The main opposition Minju Party said the deployment would not be in the national interests of South Korea, citing lack of sufficient preparations for diplomatic frictions with China and Russia, and the ensuing economic losses. China is South Korea's largest trading partner.

The opposition party also worried about anti-American sentiment heightening among South Korean people living in candidate sites. Social conflicts are expected at home as the THAAD's radar emits super-strong microwave detrimental to humans and electronic devices.

If the radar is deployed northward, it will inevitably face a densely populated region. Forced deployment will cause harsh backlashes from people living in candidate cities and may kindle anti-US sentiment. Among potential sites are Pyeongtaek in Gyeonggi province, Wonju in Gangwon province, Eumseong in South Chungcheong province, Gunsan in North Jeolla province and Chilgok in North Gyeongsang province.

The governor of North Gyeongsang province, one of the candidate sites and the traditional home turf for the ruling party, said that if the site is decided upon without fair and transparent procedures, he and his provincial people will not sit idle with it. He expressed deep concerns about his province having been repeatedly cited as a candidate site.

People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD), a local activist group, said in a statement that the THAAD deployment decision represents an official announcement to speed up arms race in East Asia, and that possibility gets high for the deployment to cost South Korea the peninsula's peace and people's security as well as economic losses.

The PSPD said the effectiveness of the still unverified THAAD should be discussed, calling for making public the standards on which Seoul and Washington will choose an optimal site for the THAAD deployment in terms of environment, the health and safety of people as well as the military effectiveness.