– Beijing Bares Teeth, Threatens South Korea Over THAAD Redeployment:
Beijing has made no secret of its displeasure with South Korea’s deployment of the American-made Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system – and now that the deployment has resumed, China may seek to retaliate against Seoul.
When liberal South Korean President Moon Jae-in took office in May, Chinese leadership likely breathed a sigh of relief, as he announced a forestalling of the THAAD deployment for up to 15 months while the South Korean government undertook an environmental impact analysis of the system. Two of the six platforms had already been rolled out and Moon lacked the authority to suspend or dismantle them — but he could stall for time on the rest.
Read moreBeijing Bares Teeth, Threatens South Korea Over THAAD Redeployment