South Korea, U.S. agree to push missile defense system

By AFP February 2, 2017 | 04:53 am PT

US Defense Secretary James Mattis (L) shakes hands with South Korea's acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn (R) prior to their meeting at the Government Complex in Seoul on February 2, 2017. Photo by AFP/Song Kyung-Seok

U.S. Defense Secretary' Asia tour comes as relations between the US and other nations get off to a rocky start.

South Korea and the United States on Thursday agreed to push through with the deployment of a US missile defense system strongly opposed by China, the prime minister said.

Hwang Kyo-Ahn and US Defense Secretary James Mattis confirmed that the two allies will go ahead with the installation of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in the South this year as planned, the prime minister's office said.

Mattis arrived Thursday in South Korea on the first leg of a trip that also includes Japan, two key allies rattled by US President Donald Trump's ascent to power.

It is the first overseas tour by a senior official in Trump's administration as concerns rise about the direction of American policy in the region under the protectionist and fiery leader.

On the campaign trail, Trump threatened to withdraw US forces from the two countries if they do not step up their financial support. Some 28,500 US troops are based in South Korea and 47,000 in Japan.

The rhetoric has raised concerns in both Seoul and Tokyo, and in a statement this week South Korea's defense ministry said it hoped Mattis' trip would be "an opportunity for the Trump administration to maintain and strengthen US commitment" to their alliance.

"President Trump ... wanted me to make a very clear statement about the priority that we place on this alliance between our two allies", Mattis said at the start of his talks with Hwang, who serves as the South's acting leader following the impeachment of President Park Geun-Hye in December over corruption charges.

The two allies last year announced plans to deploy the THAAD system following a series of North Korean atomic and missile tests, infuriating China which fears it will undermine its own ballistic capabilities.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un boasted last month that the country was in the "final stages" of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile.

But it remains unclear whether the missile shield system would actually be deployed in South Korea after the country's leading presidential candidate and opposition member Moon Jae-In argued the decision should be left to the next government.

South Korea may hold elections in a matter of months if the Constitutional Court signs off on Park's impeachment.

Should it reject the impeachment and restore her to presidency, the election would take place in December.

Final stages

The prime minister said the fact that South Korea was the first country for an overseas visit by Mattis underscored the "importance" Washington put in the alliance between the two countries.

Mattis is due to hold talks with Defense Minister Han Min-Koo Friday, before heading to Japan.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe -- who is scheduled to meet Trump next week in Washington -- told lawmakers he intends to press Mattis about "the significance of the Japan-US alliance".

Mattis' Asia tour comes as relations between the US and other world powers such as Mexico and Australia get off to a rocky start.

The Washington Post reported late Wednesday that Trump ripped into his Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull during a call last week, with the US president apparently fuming at a refugee accord he called "dumb" and cutting the call short.

Australia is a close US ally, and one of the so-called "Five Eyes" countries with which the US routinely shares sensitive intelligence.

Trump has meanwhile angered Mexicans by ordering the construction of a massive border wall and vowing to make their country pay for it.

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