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S. Korea's Park defends missile shield as residents shave heads
by Staff Writers
Seoul (AFP) Aug 15, 2016


N. Korea calls South's leader 'psychopath' over missile row
Seoul (AFP) Aug 17, 2016 - North Korea on Wednesday labelled South Korean President Park Geun-Hye a "psychopath" after she made a speech slamming Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions and defending the deployment of a US anti-missile system.

In her televised address on Monday, Park had stressed that deploying the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system was an act of "self-defence" in response to the North's expanding nuclear weapons programme.

A spokesman for the North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country said Park's argument was "preposterous" and unfounded.

"This is just a lame excuse and she should know that no one will be taken in by such sophism of a puppet that can do nothing without an approval of her US master," the spokesman said.

"This is no more than nonsense talked by a psychopath," he added in a statement carried by the North's official KCNA news agency.

North Korea has threatened to take "physical action" against the THAAD deployment, saying any South Korean ports and airfields hosting US military hardware would become a target.

Beijing is also opposed to the move, seeing it as a US bid to flex its military muscle in the region and undermine China's own missile capabilities.

US Army Chief of Staff, General Mark Milley, addressed those concerns during talks on Tuesday with his Chinese counterpart, General Li Zuocheng in Beijing.

THAAD is "not a threat in any way to China," Milley told Li according to a US Army statement.

Deploying the system "is a defensive measure to protect South Koreans and Americans from the North Korean ballistic missile threat," he added.

Milley was due to hold talks with top South Korean military officials in Seoul on Wednesday.

South Korea's president Monday defended the proposed deployment of a US anti-missile system as an act of self-defence against North Korea, as hundreds of residents shaved their heads in protest at the plan.

Tensions have been running high on the divided Korean peninsula since the North carried out its fourth nuclear test in January and followed up with a series of missile tests.

South Korea responded last month by announcing deployment of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system -- a move which sparked domestic protests as well as complaints from China.

"I urge the North Korean government to immediately stop all provocations and threats targeting South Korea as well as the development of weapons of mass destruction," said President Park Geun-Hye in a televised Liberation Day speech.

Her comments came as both Koreas celebrated the anniversary of the peninsula's liberation from Japanese colonial rule in 1945.

Stressing that "true liberation" would involve reunification of the peninsula, Park said that could only happen by removing the fear of nuclear weapons, missiles and war.

She also warned the North that all attempts to provoke and intimidate the South would be counter-productive.

"The more efforts (the North) makes, the deeper the country's isolation in the international community will be and the bigger its economic problems will be," she said

The North's nuclear test in January resulted in a substantial strengthening of UN sanctions, but a defiant Pyongyang doubled down with a series of ballistic missile tests also banned by UN resolutions.

Tensions are expected to rise again when the South launches an annual joint military exercise with the United States later this month.

The planned missile shield has been condemned not only by Pyongyang but also Beijing, which views the deployment as a US move against its own national security interests and a threat to regional stability.

"The deployment of THAAD is an act of self-defence," Park said in her speech, adding that her priority as president was to "protect the lives of our people from the reckless provocations of the North".

THAAD has also hit domestic opposition, particularly from those living in the rural county of Seongju where the first battery will be installed.

Residents say the system's powerful radar will pose health and environmental hazards and argue that its presence will make them a target.

On Monday more than 900 Seongju residents had their heads shaved, a symbol of protest and determination.

"We need to show our determination in order to stop THAAD!" the protesters chanted as men and women, some in tears, had their heads shaved at a local park.

Some opposition lawmakers have sided with the residents and called for the deployment to be scrapped, a stance criticised by Park.

"I believe that such a matter ... should not be the subject of a political fight," she said.

"If there is any other way to protect our people and the country, one should propose an alternative," Park added.


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Previous Report
NUKEWARS
UN fails to condemn N. Korea after China draws link to THAAD
United Nations, United States (AFP) Aug 9, 2016
The UN Security Council failed to agree Tuesday on a statement condemning North Korea's launch of a missile that landed near Japan after China sought to include language opposing the US missile defense system in South Korea. The United States had circulated a draft statement that strongly condemned the August 2 launch and expressed particular concern that the ballistic missile landed near Ja ... read more


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