North Korea is as belligerent as ever and it showed its belligerence by firing four missiles into the Sea of Japan. The IRBM's entered the exclusive economic zone of Japan. The Korean dictator could not have taken this step without the support of China, which has an ax to grind to keep the pot boiling for the USA and its ally South Korea. The US has reacted and has decided to deploy the THAAD anti-missile defense system in the South. This happened after China stopped coal imports from the North in the hope that this will stop the USA from deploying the missiles.
China earlier warned of " grave consequences" in case the missiles were deployed.
Positioning THAAD
The USAF has used the Globemaster transport planes to move the missiles which are to be installed on a golf course 130 km from Seoul. The missiles system has deep penetration radars that can look inside China and this is not to the liking of Beijing. Micheal Gordon a well-known reporter has tweeted:
Mattis urged moving ahead with #THAAD on his trip to Seoul. As the North pops off missiles, we are seeing the results https://t.co/88oNOXbmgH
— Michael R. Gordon (@gordonnyt) March 7, 2017
The missile defense system will be operational by the end of April. The US has rejected the concerns of China and is going ahead with the deployment.
With this deployment, the political climate in East Asia has become tense. North Korea says that the launch of the missiles was in response to the annual US-Korea military exercise. The US says its a routine affair.The Koreans view the exercise as a rehearsal for an invasion. The US army has tweeted:
#THAAD deploys to the Korean Peninsula; this purely defensive system honors our alliance commitments to the #ROK. https://t.co/I4bPDh9wRt pic.twitter.com/apqqQkv6Ch
— U.S. Pacific Command (@PacificCommand) March 7, 2017
China not happy
China is not happy with this deployment and feels under threat.
The system will be operational next month. The Chinese Foreign minister has proposed that North Korea could suspend its missile program in case the Americans and south Koreans call off their exercise. This is unlikely to find acceptance with Washington.
Donald's problem
Donald Trump faces his first challenge in North Korea which is a proxy for China.
The North can hit targets in Japan and South Korea with nuclear weapons. Thousands of US troops are stationed there. In a few years, the North will have the capability to strike at the USA. it will be interesting to see how Donald will tackle the Korean problem.
