Defense minister's trip to US triggers speculation about THAAD

By Jun Ji-hye

Defense Minister Han Min-koo is expected to accompany President Park Geun-hye to the United States next week, officials said Thursday.

The announcement has triggered speculation that the possibility of Washington deploying an advanced missile defense system in Korea and Seoul’s purchase of F-35 stealth fighters could be discussed during Park’s summit with U.S. President Barack Obama on Oct. 16.

It is quite rare for the defense chief to accompany the President on an overseas trip. The defense chief usually remains in the country while a president is away due to possible provocation by North Korea.

A government official told reporters on the condition of anonymity, “Han may be included in Park’s entourage due to the possibility that pending defense and security issues between the two countries could be discussed.”

Han denied speculation that the deployment of the terminal high altitude area defense (THADD) system on the Korean Peninsula was on the summit agenda.

“The THADD issue will not be discussed during the summit,” he told lawmakers during a National Assembly audit session.

However, there are rumors that Seoul and Washington will discuss the deployment as well as transfer of technologies of the F-35 stealth fighter from Lockheed Martin to Korea for the latter’s KF-X project to develop indigenous fighters by 2025.

“Han’s trip to the U.S. looks strange because an annual meeting of defense chiefs between the two nations is scheduled for next month in Seoul,” a source said. “This is why people are speculating that there could be urgent security-related issues that Seoul must tackle with Washington.”

Washington has constantly expressed its wish to deploy THAAD, the core of the U.S. ballistic missile defense system, in the South to better deter the reclusive North. But it has been a sensitive issue for Seoul because it needs to walk a tightrope between its military ally Washington and No. 1 trading partner China. Beijing has been pressing Seoul to reject the deployment, saying it could be used to nullify Beijing’s military strike capabilities.

The U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who visited Seoul Tuesday to consult with officials about the agenda of the upcoming summit, told reporters Wednesday that no decision has been made regarding the THAAD deployment, and any decision will be made through the consultations. He left for Beijing Thursday.

U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Mark Lippert told reporters Thursday: “I think it is highly unlikely that it will come up. I don’t think it will be on the agenda.”

But Han signaled that the two countries could discuss the technology transfers for Seoul’s 8.5 trillion won KF-X project.

When Rep. Yoo Seong-min of the ruling Saenuri Party asked him whether the technology transfer will be discussed, Han said, “I sent a letter to the U.S. defense minister and expect him to reply soon. We will make a decision after receiving a reply.”

Seoul recently asked the U.S. government to allow Lockheed to hand over the 21 technologies related to the F-35 stealth fighter to South Korea.

When the Defense Acquisition Program Administration signed a deal with the U.S. defense giant in September last year to buy 40 F-35s, the agency said that Seoul would receive a total of 25 technologies from Lockheed including four core ones ― the active electronically scanned array radar, infrared search and track, electronic optics targeting pod and RF jammer.

But the U.S. government refused in April to allow the transfer of these four, dealing a serious blow to Seoul’s jet project.

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