THAAD schedule might change depending on political situation
By Cho Jae-hyon
North Korea may carry out a military provocation in the next 30 to 60 days to see how the new U.S. administration will react, according to Lieutenant General Thomas S. Vandal, the commander of the Eighth U.S. Army.
The commander said the North has committed provocations whenever the U.S. inaugurates a new administration.
"Every time we see a new president, there has been some sort of provocation," Vandal said, Tuesday. "That obviously might provide opportunity for Kim Jong-un to do something to see what the reaction is and what the policy is…or to get a feel for how the Trump administration will react."
He made the remarks during a meeting with a group of journalist members of the KATUSA (Korea Augmentation to the U.S. Army) Veterans Association.
Still, the commander said there were "no immediate indicators" of possible provocations. Vandal said the United States Forces Korea is "watching very closely" North Korea for these.
He said the possible provocation the North Korean leader might commit may involve another launch of ballistic missiles to assess technological development and see what modifications need to be made.
"We would presume that, once that is set, that he may go into another ballistic missile cycle at some point," Vandal said.
Asked about South Korea's concerns that the Trump administration might demand Seoul share a greater burden of the USFK stationing costs, Vandal said the ROK-U.S. alliance will not undergo any major changes even after the inauguration of President-elect Trump.
He said South Korea already makes a "significant contribution" to the operations of the USFK. For instance, he said South Korea is committed to covering 92 percent of the costs for its relocation to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.
"I will not anticipate any major changes to the alliance as the alliance of 60 years is fundamentally sound," Vandal said. "We will collectively inform the Trump administration of that contribution."
Vandal said the timetable for the plan to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery here could change depending on South Korea's political situation.
The schedule is basically based on a variety of conditions, and political and environmental considerations are part of these, he said.
"Political consideration is a factor of conditions (that might) impact on the timeline" of the THAAD deployment, he said. "Still, as (USFK commander) Gen. Brooks said we expect somewhere between the next eight to 10 months that we will see the arrival of THAAD."
By Cho Jae-hyon
 |
| Lt. Gen. Thomas S. Vandal 8th U.S. Army commander |
The commander said the North has committed provocations whenever the U.S. inaugurates a new administration.
"Every time we see a new president, there has been some sort of provocation," Vandal said, Tuesday. "That obviously might provide opportunity for Kim Jong-un to do something to see what the reaction is and what the policy is…or to get a feel for how the Trump administration will react."
He made the remarks during a meeting with a group of journalist members of the KATUSA (Korea Augmentation to the U.S. Army) Veterans Association.
Still, the commander said there were "no immediate indicators" of possible provocations. Vandal said the United States Forces Korea is "watching very closely" North Korea for these.
He said the possible provocation the North Korean leader might commit may involve another launch of ballistic missiles to assess technological development and see what modifications need to be made.
"We would presume that, once that is set, that he may go into another ballistic missile cycle at some point," Vandal said.
Asked about South Korea's concerns that the Trump administration might demand Seoul share a greater burden of the USFK stationing costs, Vandal said the ROK-U.S. alliance will not undergo any major changes even after the inauguration of President-elect Trump.
He said South Korea already makes a "significant contribution" to the operations of the USFK. For instance, he said South Korea is committed to covering 92 percent of the costs for its relocation to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.
"I will not anticipate any major changes to the alliance as the alliance of 60 years is fundamentally sound," Vandal said. "We will collectively inform the Trump administration of that contribution."
Vandal said the timetable for the plan to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery here could change depending on South Korea's political situation.
The schedule is basically based on a variety of conditions, and political and environmental considerations are part of these, he said.
"Political consideration is a factor of conditions (that might) impact on the timeline" of the THAAD deployment, he said. "Still, as (USFK commander) Gen. Brooks said we expect somewhere between the next eight to 10 months that we will see the arrival of THAAD."
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