Missile defense and strategic stability: Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) in South Korea
Abstract
South Korea is threatened by its troubled relationship with North Korea. North Korea possesses a large cache of missiles as well as chemical and biological weapons, and the future potential to mount nuclear weapons on its missiles. The United States is also challenged because of its defense commitments to Seoul. As a countermeasure, the United States and South Korea decided to deploy Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defenses in South Korea. However, China has objected. Chinese scholars believe the THAAD radar would be able to track Chinese inter-continental ballistic missiles, thereby weakening their deterrent. A technical analysis does not support this assertion. But, it is vital for South Korea, given its proximity and economic interdependence, to reassure China. The United States Forces Korea will deploy THAD and that is not a commitment by Seoul to become part of U.S.-led missile defenses in the Asia-Pacific.
- Authors:
-
- Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States). Center for International and Security Studies
- Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States). National Security Services
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1352416
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-16-21377
Journal ID: ISSN 1352-3260
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC52-06NA25396
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Contemporary Security Policy
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 2017; Journal ID: ISSN 1352-3260
- Publisher:
- Taylor & Francis
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE; Ballistic missile defense; Terminal High Altitude Area Defense; South Korea; China; strategic stability; extended deterrence
Citation Formats
Sankaran, Jaganath, and Fearey, Bryan L. Missile defense and strategic stability: Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) in South Korea. United States: N. p., 2017.
Web. doi:10.1080/13523260.2017.1280744.
Sankaran, Jaganath, & Fearey, Bryan L. Missile defense and strategic stability: Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) in South Korea. United States. https://doi.org/10.1080/13523260.2017.1280744
Sankaran, Jaganath, and Fearey, Bryan L. Mon .
"Missile defense and strategic stability: Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) in South Korea". United States. https://doi.org/10.1080/13523260.2017.1280744. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1352416.
@article{osti_1352416,
title = {Missile defense and strategic stability: Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) in South Korea},
author = {Sankaran, Jaganath and Fearey, Bryan L.},
abstractNote = {South Korea is threatened by its troubled relationship with North Korea. North Korea possesses a large cache of missiles as well as chemical and biological weapons, and the future potential to mount nuclear weapons on its missiles. The United States is also challenged because of its defense commitments to Seoul. As a countermeasure, the United States and South Korea decided to deploy Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defenses in South Korea. However, China has objected. Chinese scholars believe the THAAD radar would be able to track Chinese inter-continental ballistic missiles, thereby weakening their deterrent. A technical analysis does not support this assertion. But, it is vital for South Korea, given its proximity and economic interdependence, to reassure China. The United States Forces Korea will deploy THAD and that is not a commitment by Seoul to become part of U.S.-led missile defenses in the Asia-Pacific.},
doi = {10.1080/13523260.2017.1280744},
journal = {Contemporary Security Policy},
number = ,
volume = 2017,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Feb 06 00:00:00 EST 2017},
month = {Mon Feb 06 00:00:00 EST 2017}
}
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record
Other availability
Search WorldCat to find libraries that may hold this journal
Save to My Library
You must Sign In or Create an Account in order to save documents to your library.
Works referenced in this record:
Strategic Culture of the Republic of Korea
journal, May 2014
- Kim, Jiyul
- Contemporary Security Policy, Vol. 35, Issue 2
Learning to live with uncertainty: The strategic implications of North Korea's nuclear weapons capability
journal, August 2005
- O'neil, Andrew
- Contemporary Security Policy, Vol. 26, Issue 2
China, the U.S.-Japan Alliance, and the Security Dilemma in East Asia
journal, April 1999
- Christensen, Thomas J.
- International Security, Vol. 23, Issue 4
Strategic Uncertainty and Missile Defence: Revisiting the 1999 National Intelligence Estimate
journal, September 2015
- Mayer, Michael
- Contemporary Security Policy, Vol. 36, Issue 3
China's Anxiety About US Missile Defence: A Solution
journal, October 2013
- Riqiang, Wu
- Survival, Vol. 55, Issue 5
Report of the American Physical Society Study Group on Boost-Phase Intercept Systems for National Missile Defense: Scientific and Technical Issues
journal, October 2004
- Barton, David K.; Falcone, Roger; Kleppner, Daniel
- Reviews of Modern Physics, Vol. 76, Issue 3
The Future of North Korean Nuclear Delivery Systems
report, January 2015
- Schilling, John; Kan, Henry
Hard Balancing in the Age of American Unipolarity: The Russian Response to US Ballistic Missile Defense during the Bush Administration (2001–2008)
journal, February 2014
- Steff, Reuben; Khoo, Nicholas
- Journal of Strategic Studies, Vol. 37, Issue 2
Assuring Assured Retaliation: China's Nuclear Posture and U.S.-China Strategic Stability
journal, October 2015
- Cunningham, Fiona S.; Fravel, M. Taylor
- International Security, Vol. 40, Issue 2
From engagement to hedging: South Korea's new China policy
journal, December 2008
- Han, Sukhee
- Korean Journal of Defense Analysis, Vol. 20, Issue 4
South Korea's Missile Defense Policy: Dilemma and Opportunity for a Medium State
journal, July 2009
- Kim, Tae-Hyung
- Asian Politics & Policy, Vol. 1, Issue 3
Cheonan and Yeonpyeong: the Northeast Asian Response to North Korea'S Provocations
journal, April 2011
- Snyder, Scott; Byun, See-Won
- The RUSI Journal, Vol. 156, Issue 2
Chinese Theater and Strategic Missile Force Modernization and its Implications for the United States
journal, February 2009
- Chase, Michael S.; Erickson, Andrew S.; Yeaw, Christopher
- Journal of Strategic Studies, Vol. 32, Issue 1
Nuclear weapons, the United States and alliances in Europe and Asia: Toward an institutional perspective
journal, December 2016
- Frühling, Stephan; O’Neil, Andrew
- Contemporary Security Policy, Vol. 38, Issue 1
Perspectives on Defense Systems Analysis
book, April 2015
- Delaney, William P.; Atkins, Robert G.; Bernard, Alan D.
- MIT Lincoln Laboratory Series
Works referencing / citing this record:
Deterrence under nuclear asymmetry: THAAD and the prospects for missile defense on the Korean peninsula
journal, December 2018
- Kim, Inwook; Park, Soul
- Contemporary Security Policy, Vol. 40, Issue 2
The Influence of Animosity, Ethnocentric Tendencies, and National Attachment on Tourists’ Decision-Making Processes during International Conflicts
journal, October 2019
- Stepchenkova, Svetlana; Dai, Xiangyi; Kirilenko, Andrei P.
- Journal of Travel Research