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By Kim Rahn
President Moon Jae-in has said he understands China's concerns over a U.S. anti-missile system deployed here, and has requested China to understand South Korea's situation facing North Korea's missile threats.
In an interview with China Central Television (CCTV) aired late Monday evening, Moon said Seoul and Washington guarantee the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery would not spy on China's military activities.
THAAD has been a thorny issue ahead of Moon's four-day state visit to China which starts today. Although the two nations agreed to restore relations Oct. 31, despite the row over the missile defense system, Beijing has wanted Seoul to take more actions to ensure the system is not used against it.
Moon said the two governments need to understand each other's positions and resolve any sticking points over the long term if no short-term resolution is possible.
"We deployed THAAD to deter North Korea's continuous nuclear and missile provocations," he said. "While the North has been advancing its missile capabilities rapidly, the South did not have its own system to defend itself from high-altitude missiles."
Moon added the battery was introduced for defense purposes without any intention to undermine China's security interests.
"But I think we also need to put ourselves in China's shoes, as the country worries that the THAAD's radar could violate its security. We will make sure THAAD does not violate China's security beyond its original purpose of defending South Korea against North Korean missiles. And the U.S. has guaranteed this as well on multiple occasions."
Beijing says Seoul "promised" not to deploy additional THAAD batteries, not to join a U.S.-led broader missile defense system and not to form a South Korea-U.S.-Japan military alliance. But Seoul has said they were not promises but just the government's current position.
Regarding China's demand that Seoul confirm the "promises," Moon said, "We've already expressed our stance, which was not new; it was what South Korea has maintained. I believe the two nations have a deep understanding about each other's stances and this led to the Oct. 31 agreement."
While addressing the THAAD row separately, the two countries need to open a new era in economics, politics, culture, tourism and personnel exchanges he said.
Moon added that the key purpose of his trip to China was to restore trust between the two countries, which he views as having collapsed recently. "Building trust is an important start for the development of relations. I hope my visit can restore trust and boost the friendship between the peoples of the two nations."
On the first day of his visit to Beijing, Moon will participate in a roundtable with Korean and Chinese businesspeople and later give a speech at a business forum. The following day, he will take part in a trade partnership event and have bilateral talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
The President will deliver a speech at Peking University and meet with Prime Minister Li Keqiang and Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, on the third day.
On Friday, he will go to Chongqing to visit the former building of Korea's provisional government during the 1910-45 Japanese occupation of Korea. Moon will meet Chen Miner, secretary of the Communist Party of Chongqing, and visit a Hyundai Motor factory there.
