Should South Korea take a step toward enhancing its own defenses against a (potentially nuclear armed) North Korean ballistic missile program, even if that means alienating its neighbors?
For more than a year this has been Seoul’s dilemma regarding the U.S.-developed THAAD missile defense system. Various parties – including different elements with South Korea and foreign powers – have voiced their concerns and taken varying positions regarding a possible THAAD deployment.
With the THAAD issue, South Korea has to consider the costs and benefits of using THAAD versus a potential indigenous system and decide
Should South Korea take a step toward enhancing its own defenses against a (potentially nuclear armed) North Korean ballistic missile program, even if that means alienating its neighbors?
For more than a year this has been Seoul's dilemma regarding the U.S.-developed THAAD missile defense system. Various parties – including different elements with South Korea and foreign powers – have voiced their concerns and taken varying positions regarding a possible THAAD deployment.
John G. Grisafi is an analyst and Korean linguist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Having previously worked as an analyst for the United States Army in South Korea and studied Korean at the Defense Language Institute, he is now majoring in East Asian Languages & Civilization and History at the University of Pennsylvania.