United States ‘committed to Japan’s defense’: U.S. defense secretary

“[Both] agreed to push ahead as scheduled to deploy the THAAD system of United States Forces Korea (USFK) within this year as a defense system only against North Korea’s missile threats”, the MND said in a written statement. “It’s needless to say what catastrophic outcome could result when such nuclear war rehearsals take place in front of us at a time our strategic status has changed”. The THAAD system, which is capable of shooting down nuclear-armed ballistic missiles, is not primarily for defence, but to neutralise China’s ability to retaliate in the event of a U.S. first nuclear strike.

“They [Chinese foreign ministry officials] are now willing to discuss THAAD issues with us”, the source said. “Considering how controversial a topic this is, we’re going to keep reviewing it over the course of several more meetings of the board of directors”, said a source at Lotte. It resonated with his message to South Korea that the Pentagon would continue offering support by installing the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (Thaad).

Mattis also said that the USA will continue to provide extended deterrence to Japan, including the nuclear umbrella.

North Korea’s threatening rhetoric and destabilizing behavior has prompted the United States and Korea to deploy terminal high-altitude area defense anti-ballistic missile systems, which Mattis called “highly effective”, to South Korea to protect its people and the 28,500 USA troops there who stand beside the US allies. North Korea openly defied United Nations resolutions and sanctions.

A report released this week on North Korea’s Yongbyon nuclear facility indicates that Pyongyang has restarted its plutonium reactor, possibly in an attempt to generate enough fuel for a nuclear bomb.

Feb 2, 2017- USA defence secretary James Mattis is due in South Korea on the first foreign trip by a senior official in the Trump administration.

President Donald Trump’s “America First” pronouncements will frame the first major worldwide trip of his administration this week, as Defense Secretary James Mattis visits South Korea and Japan.

Why is China mad about THAAD?

The deployment “will jeopardize security and the strategic interests of regional countries, including China, and undermine the strategic balance in the region”, Lu said. “It will also deliver a strong warning to the North”, Han said.

But the South Korean justice ministry denied the decision on visas was linked to the dispute over THAAD.

Lu also described THAAD deployment as the “wrong path”.

S Korea is a close United States ally. The Japanese defence ministry said last February it doubled the number of F-15 fighter jets in the southern island of Okinawa, which is close to the disputed Senkaku islands in the East China Sea. The US has some 28,500 military personnel in the country.

What will US’ additional gain from THAAD?

Beijing was furious in early July when South Korean president Park Geun-hye agreed to deploy the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system, which Washington and Seoul have said was created to intercept missiles from the North. Beijing considers the THAAD system a threat at its doorstep.