SEOUL — Plans to deploy an American antimissile battery to South Korea and the growing North Korean threat will be at the top of James Mattis’s agenda this week when the new defense secretary visits South Korea and Japan on his first foreign trip.
Mattis, a retired Marine general nicknamed “Mad Dog,” will meet with Han Min-koo, the South Korean defense minister, in Seoul on Thursday before heading to Tokyo. Han is expected to reiterate South Korea’s commitment to hosting the Terminal High Altitude Aerial Defense system, or THAAD.
But with China exacting economic revenge on South Korea over its decision to host the missile battery and the South Korean government in crisis, some in Seoul now have jitters about the plan.
Moon Jae-in, an opposition candidate running at the top of the presidential polls, has said decisions on the THAAD deployment should wait until the next South Korean administration is in place.
That could take months, with the constitutional court now deciding whether to uphold the national assembly’s motion to impeach President Park Geun-hye, who made the decision to host THAAD, for her role in a sensational political scandal. If the court forces her from office, elections must be held within 60 days. Otherwise, they will take place in December as scheduled.
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In the meantime, the Chinese government — which has made no secret of its opposition to the THAAD plan — is trying to persuade South Korean political leaders to change their minds.
Although Washington and Seoul insist its purpose is to guard against the threat of North Korean missiles, Beijing views the system as another attempt to curtail its military expansion.
In recent weeks, China has slapped a number of trade sanctions on South Korea in an apparent effort to dissuade Seoul from going ahead with the deployment.
