THAAD

South Korean protesters stage a rally to oppose the plan to deploy the advanced U.S. missile defense system called Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, near the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, April 29, 2017 (AP/Ahn Young-joon)
Calling it a “very shocking” incident, South Korea’s new president on Tuesday demanded an investigation into why his office wasn’t told by defense officials about the arrival of several additional launchers for a contentious U.S. missile defense system meant to cope with North Korea’s nuclear threat.

(ANTIMEDIA) It’s no secret that both U.S. ally South Korea and regional superpower China both have major problems with the U.S. military’s deployment of the THAAD anti-missile system to the Korean Peninsula. Now, it appears this shared distaste could actually be the thing that finally bridges the gap between the two neighboring countries.
From a Reuters report on Friday:

Soldiers on a AAV7 Amphibious Assault Vehicle communicate during military exercises at the Zuoying naval base in Kaohsiung, southern of Taiwan, Wednesday, January 18, 2017. (AP/Chiang Ying-ying)

This week South Korea held an election to replaced the impeached former President Park Geun-hye. Whereas President Park was militantly pro-America, the new President,  Moon Jae-in campaigned on a platform of peace and reconciliation.
In no way is President Moon anti-American, but instead he favours an approach whereby South Korea might work more closely with important regional countries in the region like China, in addition to maintaining good relations with Washington.

As the crisis between the US and North Korea waxes and wanes, a commonly expressed view is that it is not a real crisis at all but an exercise in ‘bait and switch’, an attempt both to draw attention away and to justify the activation of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system to South Korea, which has now been activated.

21st Century Wire says…
According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, [China] “is ready to protect its interests“. This is not only a statement towards bellicose North Korea and their recent spate of ‘activity’, but as a warning to the United States. Smoke is billowing forth from the nose of the Dragon, and that’s not good for anyone.

North Korea’s regime defied an increasingly broader chorus of voices, including the US, Japan, China, South Korea and Russia, saying on Monday that it will continue its nuclear weapons tests, and warned it would “speed up to the maximum” its measures for bolstering its nuclear deterrence in response to the U.S. increasing “aggression and hysteria” against the country, a North Korea Foreign Ministry spokesman says in statement distributed by the official Korean Central News Agency.

Sputnik | April 29, 2017 Moon Jae-in, the leading candidate in the upcoming presidential election in South Korea, is determined to reassess the controversial deployment of the US-built Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-ballistic missile system since it “did not follow a democratic procedure,” his press team said in a statement seen by Sputnik […]

Protesters stage a rally to oppose a plan to deploy an advanced U.S. missile defense system called Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, in Seongju, where the THAAD will be deployed, South Korea, March 18, 2017. (AP/Ahn Young-joon)

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