But amid South Korea’s fractured politics, it’s still very unclear if the deal brokered under the leadership of now-impeached President Park Geun-hye will hold up.
“Mattis sought to lock in the case, but he has little leverage over the political dynamics in Seoul,” said Mark Fitzpatrick of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Mattis is the first member of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet to make an overseas visit. Key Asian ally South Korea is his first stop; Japan is next on the itinerary.
After campaign threats of possibly drawing down military support for South Korea, Trump may be trying to soothe hurt feelings by sending Mattis to Seoul. He may also be attacking an early challenge to his administration: North Korea.
On his first day in Seoul, Mattis met with Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, South Korea’s acting president since Park was impeached in December. The two reaffirmed the Park administration’s decision to deploy the missile defense system and aim to have it in place by July. Hwang believes, as does Park, that its immediate deployment is necessary to deter North Korea’s growing nuclear threat.
The U. S.-built missile battery, which comes with a powerful radar, is called Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD for short.
