26 July 2016•Update: 26 July 2016
By Alex Jensen
SEOUL
A key South Korean political figure spelled out Tuesday the trouble caused by Seoul’s decision to deploy an American missile defense system known as THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense).
The government reached the decision with Washington earlier this month without seeking parliamentary approval -- and opposition People’s Party floor leader Park Jie-won condemned the move for bringing North Korea and China closer together.
“Seoul's diplomacy with China has collapsed due to the decision to deploy the [THAAD] system,” he was quoted as saying by local news agency Yonhap, noting that Pyongyang is capitalizing on South Korea’s fraying Beijing ties.
China has certainly made its disapproval known in recent months, with analysts pointing out that Beijing feels threatened by THAAD’s radar -- the system’s arrival on the South’s soil by the end of next year would also bolster the United States’ presence in the region.
North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho flew to Laos with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Sunday, as the pair prepared for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum.
Ahead of a bilateral meeting with Ri on arrival in the Southeast Asian nation, Wang made no secret of his aim to strengthen relations with the North.
Seoul’s foreign minister, Yun Byung-se, was greeted with less warmth during his own talks with Wang late Sunday, when the Chinese official accused South Korea of undermining bilateral trust.
Yun and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met a day later in the Laotian capital to reaffirm their commitment to both deploying THAAD and pressuring North Korea over its nuclear weapon ambitions.
Seoul’s prioritization of United Nations sanctions over dialogue with Pyongyang has been at odds with the conciliatory stance that prevailed when Park Jie-won served as chief of staff to late President Kim Dae-jung -- who was involved in the first ever inter-Korean summit in 2000.
Concerns have been rising that China could become less willing to cooperate with the latest UN punitive measures against the North as a result of the upcoming THAAD deployment.
Beijing was fully on board with the sanctions when they were unveiled in March, and if anything appeared to be growing closer to South Korea at Pyongyang’s expense.
