South Korea’s plan to deploy a US-built missile shield furnishes it with a crucial level of defence against Kim Jong Un, a capricious dictator whose nuclear armed North Korean regime releases mocked-up videos of Seoul being hit by Pyongyang’s rocket attacks. But while the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defence system (Thaad) is a legitimate defensive option for South Korea, it is also seen as a threat by China, with whom Seoul has been assiduously improving relations in recent years.
韓國部署美制反導系統的計劃,為韓提供了一種防范朝鮮反復無常的獨裁者金正恩(Kim Jong Un)打擊的重要手段。擁有核武裝的朝鮮政權,發布了數段模擬首爾遭朝方火箭襲擊的視屏。不過,雖然對韓國來說“末段高空區域防御系統”(THAAD,簡稱:薩德)是個正當的防御選擇,但它也被中國視為一種威脅。而近些年來,首爾方面一直在努力改善對華關系。