By Jun Ji-hye
U.S. Ambassador Mark Lippert has two big challenges on his new tour of duty.
One is to fulfill Washington’s hope to deploy its latest ballistic missile interception system here as part of its missile defense program (MD).
The other, which is tied to the first, is to keep Seoul from forming closer ties with China.
On arrival here Oct. 30, Lippert got a sense of the difficulties attached to the first mission, when he employed diplomatic tact about the purported U.S. plan to deploy a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense battery here.
Lippert Tuesday told Rep. Moon Hee-sang, interim chairman of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy, Tuesday, that the allies will transparently discuss the deployment, adding that the two have yet to begin discussions on the matter.
Party spokesman Kim Sung-soo noted that the ambassador stressed that THAAD is a defensive measure, after Moon raised concerns over possible tensions in Northeast Asia over its deployment.
But this contradicts earlier remarks he made that THAAD will target the North’s ballistic missiles.
Ostensibly, the missile shield system is intended as protection for U.S troops stationed here.
However, Beijing will feel vulnerable due to the radar system alone, as it could potentially snoop on its radar system.
Beijing has told Seoul that it regards THAAD as a threat.
In other words, THAAD is something that Washington and Seoul refer to as a defensive system, while Beijing and Pyongyang regard it is an offensive weapon.
Kim Dae-young, a senior research fellow of the Korea Defense and Security Forum, said that he doesn’t envy Lippert’s THAAD task.
“For the U.S., THAAD deployment is absolutely necessary,” he said. “He already appears to be working on his mission as a messenger for that.”
The THAAD system, with a range of 150 kilometers, is regarded as an indispensable element of the U.S. MD.
Washington’s intended deployment of it is widely regarded as an attempt to get its Asian ally to join the MD system and contain the influence of China as well as Russia.
Lippert was commissioned into the Navy Reserve in 2005 through the Navy’s direct commission officer program as an intelligence officer. He served for about a year in Iraq as an intelligence officer with the Navy SEALs.
Before coming to Seoul, Lippert served as chief of staff to the secretary of defense, as well as chief of staff for the National Security Council, and assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs in the Department of Defense.
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