BEIJING - The South Korean government is either making a historic misjudgment, or is using it as a weak excuse to state that the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system could pit Beijing against Pyongyang.
Instead, the decision to deploy the anti-missile system will bring catastrophe to the Korean Peninsula and destroy the hard-won political mutual trust and economic ties between Seoul and its neighbors in Northeast Asia.
Trying to defend an unpopular decision to install the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in Seongju county, southeast of Seoul, a South Korean government spokesman on Sunday called China's criticism unreasonable and shifted the blame to the "nuclear and missile threats" from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
However, Pyongyang's proposals for a halt of military and nuclear activities on both sides have repeatedly met cold rejection from Washington and Seoul, which have stuck to frequent military exercises and flown nuclear-capable B-52 bombers over the Korean Peninsula, in a clear show of hostility against Pyongyang. (Xinhua)