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| Residents of Seongju County, North Gyeongsang Province, protest President Moon Jae-in's order to consult with the U.S. over the temporary deployment of four more launchers of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery to a golf course in the country where two launchers have already been installed, during a press conference in front of the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan, Seoul, Monday. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk |
Beijing may step up economic retaliation against Seoul
By Yi Whan-woo
China is remaining low key over North Korea's purported successful test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Friday, while criticizing South Korea for its decision to deploy additional U.S. anti-missile launchers to deter Pyongyang's military threats.
This is part of China's "two-faced" policy of embracing North Korea as a buffer zone against U.S. military power and bullying South Korea to bring discord to the Seoul-Washington alliance, analysts said Monday.
China apparently toned down its rhetoric, turning a deaf ear to the international community's condemnation of Pyongyang's missile launch late Friday night.
It only asked North Korea to "observe the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and suspend activities that can heighten tension on the Korean Peninsula."
The Huanqiu Shibao, a newspaper under the auspices of the Chinese Communist Party's People's Daily, claimed that China has a limited role on North Korea, in what was seen as a counterargument to U.S. President Donald Trump's complaints over Beijing's failure to exercise more leverage on the Kim Jong-un regime.
Regarding North Korea's ICBM, the newspaper also said China "has no capability whatsoever to stop it."
It also remains uncertain whether Beijing will join the UNSC's efforts to adopt the toughest-ever sanctions against Pyongyang although its nuclear and ballistic missile programs are progressing faster than expected.
On the contrary, Beijing has intensified its protest against the deployment of a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery in South Korea, after Seoul decided to install four additional launchers of the system temporarily in addition to the two that are in operation.
On Saturday, the Chinese foreign ministry expressed "grave concerns" over the Moon Jae-in administration's decision to deploy the additional THAAD launchers.
Saying it "firmly opposes" THAAD, the ministry said the U.S. missile shield "seriously" damages the balance of power in the region while violating China's national interest. It has urged both Seoul and Washington to suspend the THAAD deployment and withdraw related equipment.
The Huanqiu Shibao also accused South Korea and the U.S of taking the regional security situation to "a more serious level."
Experts also forecast Beijing may step up its economic retaliation against South Korean businesses because of the extra launchers.
"China's long-term goal is to weaken the U.S. influence in the Asia-Pacific region, and North Korea's progress in ICBM technology serves its purpose," said Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defense and Security Forum. "This is because Washington, jointly with Seoul and Tokyo, will have to spend extra time and money against Pyongyang's ICBMs while Beijing can go ahead with its plan to flex its muscles in the region. It's no wonder China did not criticize Pyongyang as harshly as it did Seoul."
"Under these circumstances, I must say China is colluding with North Korea and is being negligent in its duty as a permanent member of the UNSC," a researcher at the Sejong Institute said on condition of anonymity.
"China is likely to refuse adopting the toughest-to-date U.N. sanctions on North Korea. Its sanctions on South Korea over THAAD deployment, however, are likely to grow for the time being," he added.
North Korea purportedly succeeded in its second test-firing of an ICBM, Friday, following the previous launch July 4.
The missile flew for 47 minutes and 12 seconds while travelling 998 kilometers and reaching a maximum altitude of 3,724.9 meters, Pyongyang claimed.
It said the latest launch proved its capability to fire at "random regions and locations at random times" with the "entire" U.S. mainland within range.
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