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Seoul should urge Beijing to support of UNSC statement on N.K.

Seoul should urge Beijing to support of UNSC statement on N.K.

Posted August. 29, 2016 07:05,   

Updated August. 29, 2016 07:13

한국어

The UN Security Council issued on Friday a press statement strongly condemning North Korea for firing four ballistic missiles in July and August, including the submarine launched ballistic missile (SLBM) test-fired on August 24. The UNSC said in its press release that it has agreed on take additional stern measures. China cooperated in adopting of the statement this time, although it had put the brakes on adoption of a UNSC statement by demanding inclusion of "opposition to THAAD deployment on the Korean Peninsula" when Pyongyang launched the Rodong missile early this month.

China has agreed to the UNSC statement because it aims to ensure success of the G20 summit in Hangzhou on Sept.4-5, but Beijing has never changed its opposition to the THAAD deployment decision in South Korea. After South Korea and the U.S. officially announced the plan to deploy the THAAD system in the South, China has threatened in diplomatic arenas including the UN and the ASEAN Regional Forum that it could boycott a string of measures to sanction North Korea at the UN level, if Seoul insisted on THAAD deployment. Rather than giving up nuclear development, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is threatening additional provocations by saying, “We will continue to display all measures of crisis in phases,” because he knows Beijing will is covering up for Pyongyang.

The UNSC statement condemning the North for its launch of ballistic missile in May was not adopted due to Russia’s opposition. This happened because conflict between the U.S. and Russia over the Syrian crisis affected the situation on the Korean Peninsula. President Park Geun-hye is scheduled to hold a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the second Oriental Economic Forum, which will take place in Vladivostok on Sept. 2-3. There is a chance President Park will also hold a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the G20 summit in Hangzhou. These are great opportunities for President Park to dispel unnecessary misunderstanding surrounding THAAD and recover cooperation in dealing with Pyongyang’s nuclear development by meeting with the leaders of China and Russia that are opposed to THAAD deployment in South Korea.

THAAD is the best currently available means that can detect and intercept North Korea’s nuclear missiles. Seoul should urgently find supplementary measures against the SLBM from the sea, which even THAAD cannot adequately intercept. Probably not satisfied with just one SLBM, Kim Jong Un is scrambling to develop a submarine that is capable of launching up to three SLBMs. Constructing a defense system designed to protect the country and people to counter Kim Jong Un’s nuclear and missile threats constitutes South Korea’s sovereign right to security that we can hardly afford to make concession on. While clearly demanding the leaders of China and Russia that they respect South Korea’s sovereign right to security, Seoul should also engage in diplomacy of persuasion so that the countries can jointly cope with the security crisis originating from North Korea to ensure peace in North East Asia.



한기흥기자 eligius@donga.com