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| In the top left photo, elements of a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery are being installed on a former golf course in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, Friday. In the bottom left photo, members of the Korean Federation of Environmental Movements stage a protest against the deployment of the anti-missile system at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul, Friday. In the right photo, U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the Department of the Interior in Washington, Wednesday. Trump said in an interview with Reuters Thursday that Seoul should pay the cost for the battery which is around $1 billion. / AP-Yonhap |
Payment call will turn public against THAAD
By Jun Ji-hye
U.S. President Donald Trump has abruptly demanded that Seoul pay $1 billion for the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery here, stoking negative public sentiment against the anti-missile system.
In response to the unexpected, deal-breaking remark, the Ministry of National Defense said Friday that Washington should pay any costs in accordance with the two countries' Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) that governs the treatment of U.S. forces stationed here.
Trump's comments were squarely against the allies' previous agreement, reached based on SOFA, which calls for South Korea to provide the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) with the site for the anti-missile shield and other infrastructure, and for the U.S. to bear the cost of deployment and operation.
The government provided the USFK with land in Seongju County, North Gyeongsang Province, previously owned by Lotte Group, April 20.
Trump's surprise remarks are adding fuel to the ongoing controversy over the deployment of the THAAD battery, giving objectors another reason to oppose it, along with fierce protests from local residents over the system's possible environmental risks.
During an interview with Reuters, Thursday, President Trump said the THAAD system was to protect South Korean people, questioning why the U.S. should pay for that.
"On the THAAD system, it's about a billion dollars. I said, ‘Why are we paying? Why are we paying a billion dollars? We're protecting,'" he said. "So, I informed South Korea it would be appropriate if they paid."
Stressing that the battery is "phenomenal" and "the most incredible" equipment to shoot down enemy missiles, he continued: "We're going to protect them. But they should pay for that, and they understand that."
The comments came after the USFK moved an AN/TPY-2 X-Band radar, mobile launchers and other key parts, needed to set up the THAAD unit, to the former golf course in Seongju through an unannounced operation early Wednesday morning. The overnight operation has been causing criticism as it took place before due procedures such as an environmental survey were completed.
The ministry, which was obviously embarrassed by the comments from the U.S. President, made it clear that there was no change in the "basic position" that South Korea provides the site for the THAAD system and related facilities under SOFA, and the U.S. shoulders the burden for installing and operating it.
Ministry officials said they had not heard any such demand, referring to Trump's comments that he had already informed Seoul.
The allies officially began their discussion regarding the deployment Feb. 7 last year when North Korea launched a long-range rocket, which was seen as a cover for developing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The two sides then reached an agreement in July to deploy the THAAD unit.
Throughout discussions, who would bear the cost was a paramount issue, along with concerns over the radar's possible environmental and health impacts.
In an apparent bid to appease controversy, the ministry has so far highlighted actively that the U.S. will bear the deployment and operation costs completely.
Trump's latest comments are expected to affect the allies' upcoming discussion to renew their defense cost-sharing deal, also known as the special measures agreement (SMA), with the current one expiring next year. Kim Yong-hyun, a professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University, said Trump probably kept this in mind when making the remarks, given that negotiations on the SMA will begin at the end of the year at the earliest.
During his campaign, Trump pledged to have wealthy allies such as South Korea and Japan shoulder more of the cost of American troops stationed in their countries, saying the U.S. should be prepared to withdraw them unless the allies agreed to pay more.
The largest liberal Democratic Party of Korea, whose presidential candidate is frontrunner Moon Jae-in, said the need for the THAAD issue to be reviewed by the next government has become even bigger.
"We have consistently called on the issue to be discussed again by the next government," said spokesman Rep. Youn Kwan-suk. "Now, the U.S. talks about THAAD expenses, so diplomatic and economic matters should be reviewed. Moon, a qualified candidate, needs to resolve the issue using his diplomatic ability."
The center-left People's Party said, "The government should clarify whether Seoul's payment was only Washington's wish, or if the government signed a behind-the-scenes deal with the U.S."
The conservative Bareun Party also said Trump's comments were against the two nations' existing agreement.
Trump also said he will "renegotiate or terminate" the free trade agreement between the two countries, calling the deal "horrible."
