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THAAD

Is the THAAD Missile Crisis in South Korea Escalating?  

May 30, 2020 By K. J. Noh, Popular Resistance. , , ,
On May 28th, 2020,  "The Ministry of National Defense and the USFK (United States Forces in Korea) engaged in a transportation operation in the middle of the night to bring equipment to the Seongju THAAD [missile defense] system in Gyeong sang buk do [Province]. The Ministry of National Defense said that it supported the land transportation operation by the USFK from the night of the 28th to the morning of the 29th.  The work was said to have ended at 6 am" This stealth operation in the middle of the night was nevertheless challenged by the residents of the area. 3700 South Korean riot police had to be deployed as a phalanx to cordon off the roads to enable the operation and to prevent obstruction of the transport.  Several residents were reported to have been injured during the clash between local residents and the police.

Riot Police Force Dispersal Of Anti-THAAD Protest Days Before North-South Summit

May 1, 2018 Staff, Zoominkorea.org , , , ,
It has been nearly one year since the United States Forces Korea and the South Korean Defense Ministry first forced in key parts of the THAAD missile system using brute force against the residents who were peacefully blocking the road to the deployment site. Not much has changed, however, since the early morning of April 26, 2017. The struggle against the THAAD continues as construction for the base hosting the missile system continues. On April 23 of 2018, South Korean police forced 200 residents of Soseong-ri and anti-THAAD activists to disperse from their peaceful protest to make way for additional construction material and equipment to enter the deployment site of the THAAD missile system. Protesters mobilized on the night of April 22 in anticipation of construction material entering the THAAD base.

South Korean Self-Immolates, Demands U.S. THAAD Weapons Out

September 21, 2017 David Swanson, www.davidswanson.org , , ,
By David Swanson for Let's Try Democracy - Our country only has a future via the success of the Moon Jae-In Administration. President Moon Jae-In, long ago, when I was in Germany, I am someone who supported and respected you. President Moon Jae-In, I will give you a direct message. THAAD can not happen. Mr. President, you also know that THAAD will not bring peace, but anxiety and the dangers of war. There’s a saying that you take one step back to go two steps forward, I was considering that there might be a bigger picture, but by all means this is not the case. To be the coveted interest of the American superpower can’t be easy. But if from the beginning you are pushed like this, how will you stand up? I am a person who genuinely, honestly hoped for the success of the Moon Jae-In administration. Through the success of the Moon Jae-In administration, we could have seen a future for North-South Korean economic partnerships, peace & reunification, work done to achieve balance in Northeast Asia, and a future for us [Corean] descendants. THAAD, for all intents and purposes, will not be a war deterrent nor a protective arm for peace.

USFK Install THAAD Launchers After Eight-Hour Confrontation

September 9, 2017 Staff, www.zoominkorea.org , ,
By Staff of Zoom In Korea - The residents expressed feeling betrayed by the Moon Jae-in administration and said little has changed since he replaced former President Park Geun-hye. The Seongju Stop THAAD Struggle Committee released the following statement on September 7: Today the Moon Jae-in administration went above the law to illegally execute an “emergency action” by exercising dictatorial power. Currently, the Blue House’s national security team is made up of personnel who are pro-U.S. and supporters of global capitalism. As long as these people continue to make up the government, the Moon administration will continue to betray [South Korean] citizens. The unilateral decision to move forward with the THAAD deployment directly contradicts Moon Jae-in’s promise to ensure a decision based on a democratic process in the National Assembly based and a full-scale environmental impact assessment. In the weeks leading up to September 7, the Moon administration had ordered a small-scale environmental impact assessment in place of a more thorough process.

Urgent Warning: Time To Hit The Reset Button On US-Korean Policy

July 31, 2017 Medea Benjamin, www.codepink.org , , ,
By Medea Benjamin for Code Pink - Touching down in Washington DC Friday night after a peace delegation to South Korea organized by the Task Force to Stop THAAD in Korea (STIK), I saw the devastating news. No, it was not that Reince Priebus had been booted from the dysfunctional White House. It was that North Korea had conducted another intercontinental ballistic missile test, and that the United States and South Korea had responded by further ratcheting up this volatile conflict. The response was not just the usual tit-for-tat, which did happen. Just hours after the North Korean test, the US and South Korean militaries launched their own ballistic missiles as a show of force. Even more incendiary, however, is that South Korean President Moon Jae-in also responded by reversing his decision to halt deployment of the US weapon system known as THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense). President Moon gave his military the green light to add four more launchers to complete the system. South Korea’s new, liberal president came into office on May 10 on the wave of a remarkable “people power” uprising that had led to the impeachment and jailing of the corrupt President Park Geun-hye.

South Korea’s Anti-THAAD Fight Continues

July 16, 2017 Staff, www.zoominkorea.org , , ,
By Zoom in Korea. South Korea - July 12 marked one year since the beginning of the Seongju residents’ struggle to stop the deployment of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system. So far, the AN/TPY-2 radar — the main component of the THAAD battery that will allow the U.S. to track missile activity in North Korea and China — and two of the six interceptor launchers have made their way into the deployment site. The residents of Seongju and South Korean peace activists are still protesting daily, at times putting their bodies on the line, to block the remaining parts of the THAAD battery from entering the deployment site and call for a reversal of the deployment. Despite the election of a new liberal administration in May, the South Korean government’s response to the protests of Seongju residents has largely remained unchanged.

Protesters Bellow ‘U.S. Out Of Korea’ Outside White House

July 6, 2017 Jared Feldschreiber, www.huffingtonpost.com , , ,
By Jared Feldschreiber for The Huffington Post - Approximately 20 demonstrators rallied at Lafayette Park Friday afternoon to protest U.S. involvement in Korea, just as President Moon Jae-In met with his counterpart, Donald Trump in the Oval Office. The protesters uniformly agreed that it is continued U.S. presence and bellicose language coming out of Washington, which has destroyed prospects for peace in Korea. “[President Moon] was elected [in May] with a mandate to change course. He said he would during the election campaign,” Sarah Sloan, with the anti-war Answer Coalition, told me. “We’re saying: ‘live up to it.’ I think he has different pressures on him. We oppose the deployment of THAAD - Terminal High Altitude Area Defense – [which has been deployed in South Korea].” THAAD is an advanced system designed to intercept short, medium, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles during their terminal flight phase. It is believed to be capable of intercepting North Korea’s intermediate-range ballistic missiles, as it is equipped with long-range radar. In July 2016, military officials in South Korea and the U.S. agreed to deploy it to counter threats.

Protest Friday As President Moon Meets President Trump

June 28, 2017 Staff, www.m.yna.co.kr , , , , ,
By Staff of Yonhap News Agency - SEOUL, June 24 (Yonhap) -- Thousands of South Koreans staged a protest rally in central Seoul on Saturday demanding the withdrawal of the deployment of an American high-tech anti-missile defense system as President Moon Jae-in and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump are set to meet in Washington D.C. next week. "The deployment of THAAD, which is unnecessary for the defense of the Korean Peninsula, should be pulled back," the protesters said in a rally held in Seoul Plaza at the heart of Seoul. The rally's organizer put the number of participants at 3,000. The rally came ahead of the first Moon-Trump summit to be held from June 29-30, which is expected to feature the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD). After taking office last month, Moon ordered the deployment to be delayed until an environmental impact assessment is carried out at its deployment site. "The South Korea-U.S. summit to come next week should be a venue where the review of the THAAD deployment should be assured," the protests said. They also demanded the U.S. stop enforcing the deployment.

‘Shocked’ South Korea Leader Orders Probe Into U.S. THAAD Additions

June 1, 2017 Heekyong Yang and Ju-min Park, www.reuters.com , ,
By Heekyong Yang and Ju-min Park for Reuters - South Korean President Moon Jae-in has ordered a probe after his Defence Ministry failed to inform him that four more launchers for the controversial U.S. THAAD anti-missile system had been brought into the country, his spokesman said on Tuesday. The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system battery was initially deployed in March in the southeastern region of Seongju with just two of its maximum load of six launchers to counter a growing North Korean missile threat. During his successful campaign for the May 9 presidential election, Moon called for a parliamentary review of the system, the deployment of which infuriated China, North Korea's lone major ally. "President Moon said it was very shocking" to hear the four additional launchers had been installed without being reported to the new government or to the public, presidential spokesman Yoon Young-chan told a media briefing. Moon had campaigned on a more moderate approach to Pyongyang, calling for engagement even as the reclusive state pursues nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions and threats of more sanctions.

Time For Peace Negotiations In Korea, Not Escalation

May 28, 2017 Center for Peace and Disarmament at People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, www.PopularResistance.org , , , , , ,
By staff for Center for Peace and Disarmament at People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy. The state of affairs on the Korean Peninsula is more volatile than ever, now that President Park has been impeached and new government is to be constituted through an early presidential election in South Korea. The Trump administration, in the meantime, is fueling the escalating tension even further with messages that it will not rule out a preemptive strike on North Korea, and that it will redeploy strategic nuclear warheads to South Korea if necessary. The situation is further destabilized by the Trump administration’s decision to send an aircraft carrier to waters near the Korean Peninsula. The latest military stance and strategy of Washington, however, completely overlooks the desire of Koreans for peace. The Kim Jong-un government in Pyongyang meanwhile has warned of another upcoming nuclear test it intends to conduct, poised as it is to show off its growing nuclear capabilities. An existing crisis is already escalating in Northeast Asia over the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system that the South Korean and U.S. governments have decided to deploy in South Korea. All these acts of military bravado, taking hostage the lives and peace of Koreans, must cease now. It is time for policymakers to be responsible and return to dialogue and negotiations and stop fueling the growing tensions.

THAAD Rocket Fuel: Likely Ground Water Contamination Coming To Seongju, South Korea

May 8, 2017 Bruce K. Gagnon, www.space4peace.blogspot.co.uk , , ,
By Bruce K. Gagnon for Organizing Notes - The unwelcome US deployment of the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) missile defense (MD) system in Seongju, South Korea is not only a significant threat to regional peace but is also a major environmental catastrophe waiting to happen. The reason is that rocket fuel contains a deadly chemical component called perchlorate. And since the Seongju area is a melon farming community the risk of ground water contamination by perchlorate should be alarming to all concerned. Perchlorate, the explosive ingredient in solid rocket fuel, has leaked from military bases and weapons and aerospace contractors' plants in at least 22 states, contaminating drinking water for millions of Americans. In the US scientists have warned that perchlorate could cause thyroid deficiency in more than 2.2 million women of childbearing age. This thyroid deficiency could damage the fetus of pregnant women, if left untreated. Reports indicate that 20 million to 40 million Americans may be exposed to the chemical.

US & South Korea Force THAAD Through Protesters

April 30, 2017 Staff, www.zoominkorea.org , , , ,
By Staff for Zoom in Korea. The residents of Seongju and Gimcheon were caught off guard when the United States Forces Korea and the South Korean Defense Ministry forced key parts of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system into the former Lotte Skyhill Golf Course in the early morning hours of April 26. Many of the THAAD parts, including the AN/TPY-2 radar, are believed to have been transported into the deployment site. Below is a minute by minute breakdown of the conflict. The environmental impact assessment has yet to be completed, they also noted, yet the key THAAD components have already been transported into the deployment site. A total of 12 protesters sustained injuries and were escorted to the hospital in ambulances. The Defense Ministry reportedly told the South Korean media that it plans to transport the remainder of the THAAD components into the deployment site by the end of this year.

U.S. Missile Madness Hypocrisy

April 27, 2017 Bruce K. Gagnon, www.space4peace.blogspot.com ,
By Bruce K. Gagnon for Organizing Notes - Today the Pentagon will test fire a nuclear missile from Vandenberg AFB in California into the Pacific landing at their often radiated target Kwajalein Atoll Just yesterday the Pentagon tried to sneak the THAAD 'missile defense' system in the dark of night into the new base in Seongju, South Korea but protesters were there along with a zillion police pushing them back...

The USFK Take Control Of THAAD Site through Brute Force

April 25, 2017 Staff, www.zoominkorea.org , , , ,
By Staff of Zoom In Korea - And please help us in calling the Defense Ministry to complain and tell them to stop the forced deployment of the THAAD system! During the protest on Saturday April 22, the Seongju Struggle Committee condemned the United States Forces Korea (USFK) and the South Korean government for rushing to begin construction of the THAAD base even before completing the necessary prerequisite steps — “It is illegal to bring in construction-related material when the results of the environmental impact assessment have yet to come out.” On April 20, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the South Korean government had handed over the former Lotte Skyhill Golf Course to the United States Forces Korea. The USFK is proceeding with preparations for the THAAD deployment. On the same day, U.S. military personnel were seen driving construction vehicles through Soseong-ri Village into the deployment site. Thirty residents and Won Buddhists attempted to block two vehicles from entering but were unsuccessful. The South Korean police disrupted the peaceful protest of the residents and created a path for the vehicles to enter the deployment site.

South Korean Delegation Opposes THAAD Missile Deployment At Seongju

April 17, 2017 John Zangas, www.epi.org , ,
By John Zangas for DC Media Group - A South Korean delegation spent Easter Sunday at the White House decrying plans to deploy the THAAD missile system in Seongju County, South Korea. The anti-war activist group also expressed concerns that the deployment marked increased militarism in Asia and in the Pacific, and with it increasing tensions between North and South Korea. About thirty took place in the peaceful event. It was the last stop in a 9 city tour. The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system is a mobile trailer launched high altitude anti-missile which uses its own Mach +8 speed to destroy incoming ballistic missiles both inside or outside the atmosphere. The Lockheed Martin system was deployed to South Korea to counter the North Korean missile program.Many South Koreans in Seongju County remain opppsed to the THAAD deployment, according to Rev. Sounghey Kim, co-chair of the Seongju Struggle Committeeto Stop THAAD Deployment in South Korea. Rev. Sounghey Kim, who is Buddhist, expressed worry that deploying the system in Seongju, a primarily agricultural region far south of the border of North Korea...
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