- 04 Oct 2017 21:25
#14848780
Why does the government of the Republic of Korea turn a blind eye to environmental harm from the THAAD missile defense systems?
One of the most urgent issues of the international agenda on the strategic stability for many years is the U.S. missile defense system frontline deployment.
In April 2016, the Pentagon announced the deployment of THAAD missile defense systems in South Korea, intended for the interception of North Korean missiles. Two systems were deployed in 2017.
However, the further deployment of the systems was suspended until a full environmental inspection, which, as it turned out, the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Korea tried to avoid. To accommodate the THAAD systems, the South Korean government agreed to allocate a plot of 690,000 square meters in Seongju County, but according to the law, environmental expertise is conducted for any military facilities with an area of more than 330,000 square meters. Therefore, to delay the environmental assessment, the Ministry of National Defense decided to divide the site and transfer it in small parts.
These actions did not go unnoticed by the administration of the current president of the country, Moon Jae-in, and it was decided to conduct a general assessment of the impact of the US anti-missile system on the environment of South Korea.
Such attention to the environmental expertise was shown by the South Korean government regarding the constant protests of Seongju County residents, where the THAAD systems are located. Residents of Seongju fear that radiation from THAAD radars can harm their health: for example, it may lead to infertility or to an emergence of cancer. In addition, radiation can be detrimental to the crop of this agricultural area.
According to experts' estimates, the environmental inspection may be delayed for several months or even years, so it is possible that the THAAD battery will not be deployed in South Korea in 2017, as originally planned.
Despite this, on September 7, 2017, 4 more THAAD units were delivered, which caused a new wave of protests by the local population. The urgent arrival of new systems is explained by the growing threat from North Korea. However, it is worth noting that the danger of a missile strike by the DPRK is unrealistic, which cannot be said about the possible environmental damage in the Seongju area by large number of THAAD systems.
In the near future, the number of oncological diseases among the local population may seriously increase, since the full assessment of the impact of THAAD systems on the ecology of the region was not carried out in time, but "inevitable measures" were taken against the abstract threat of a missile attack by the DPRK.
One of the most urgent issues of the international agenda on the strategic stability for many years is the U.S. missile defense system frontline deployment.
In April 2016, the Pentagon announced the deployment of THAAD missile defense systems in South Korea, intended for the interception of North Korean missiles. Two systems were deployed in 2017.
However, the further deployment of the systems was suspended until a full environmental inspection, which, as it turned out, the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Korea tried to avoid. To accommodate the THAAD systems, the South Korean government agreed to allocate a plot of 690,000 square meters in Seongju County, but according to the law, environmental expertise is conducted for any military facilities with an area of more than 330,000 square meters. Therefore, to delay the environmental assessment, the Ministry of National Defense decided to divide the site and transfer it in small parts.
These actions did not go unnoticed by the administration of the current president of the country, Moon Jae-in, and it was decided to conduct a general assessment of the impact of the US anti-missile system on the environment of South Korea.
Such attention to the environmental expertise was shown by the South Korean government regarding the constant protests of Seongju County residents, where the THAAD systems are located. Residents of Seongju fear that radiation from THAAD radars can harm their health: for example, it may lead to infertility or to an emergence of cancer. In addition, radiation can be detrimental to the crop of this agricultural area.
According to experts' estimates, the environmental inspection may be delayed for several months or even years, so it is possible that the THAAD battery will not be deployed in South Korea in 2017, as originally planned.
Despite this, on September 7, 2017, 4 more THAAD units were delivered, which caused a new wave of protests by the local population. The urgent arrival of new systems is explained by the growing threat from North Korea. However, it is worth noting that the danger of a missile strike by the DPRK is unrealistic, which cannot be said about the possible environmental damage in the Seongju area by large number of THAAD systems.
In the near future, the number of oncological diseases among the local population may seriously increase, since the full assessment of the impact of THAAD systems on the ecology of the region was not carried out in time, but "inevitable measures" were taken against the abstract threat of a missile attack by the DPRK.
- By late