From my new home in Gimpo, I can see a lot of Republic of Korea Marines at checkpoints and coastal strips, in open trucks moving to and from exercise sites and even in “makguksu” noodle restaurants where they spend time with their families on weekend visits. 

Marines are a proud bunch of people. Their octagonal service caps, red-and-yellow name tags and beige suede boots look good and so do their sprightly movements with which they seem to distinguish themselves from other service members. I hear that Marines are trained to be different and proud of their mission as a “mobile strike force” in war.

These days, I feel a little sorry for the young people in uniform because I suspect that their role in the defense of the nation might have become somewhat less appreciated. North Korea’s frequent launches of missiles have been in the global spotlight, making one wonder what a foot soldier can do if war is decided by rockets mounted with horrible bombs. But remember that the glory of victory goes to the soldiers on the ground.

When I was serving with an Army infantry division a half century ago, the M1 rifle was the basic individual weapon and most other equipment was left over from World War II and the Korean War, such as light and heavy machine guns, anti-tank rocket launchers and fragmentation grenades. Yet, we believed we could fight and win with this stumpy rifle that weighed more than 10 pounds.

The modernization of the Korean Armed Forces in the postwar period was achieved through the delivery of surplus arms from the US armory on a deferred payment basis under the Foreign Military Sales program. With Korea’s industrial development, local production of military equipment started with the US license, which allowed them to be exported to third countries. In the meantime, the US Forces in Korea brought in advanced equipment for ground and air warfare. 

We built tanks, armored personnel carriers, long-range guns, high-speed patrol boats, submarines and air force trainers. North Korea accelerated its nuclear and missile development when the Soviet Union collapsed and China opened up to the West in the early 1990s. Washington’s concentration on the war on terror in recent years and China’s tepid interference meant we lost the opportunity to stop the North’s dangerous endeavors. 

Over a quarter century later, we are now anguished by an imbalance in unconventional warfare capabilities. Americans have developed the fairly accurate missile destruction system called Terminal High Altitude Area Defense through nearly two decades of research and testing. 

South Korea accepted the deployment of the US’ THAAD battery here, but unfortunately, politics intervened. The situation became complicated as it coincided with a change of government here.

During the presidential election campaign period, then opposition candidate Moon Jae-in and his Democratic Party took a negative stand regarding the THAAD deployment here. Reasons for their opposition included China’s objections; the anticipated heavy financial burden; the system’s imperfect function as an aerial shield; and the lack of consent of residents near the deployment site. 

Following his election victory, President Moon seemed to consider the THAAD deployment as irreversible, but emphasized “procedural correctness” as the ultimate condition for his government’s consent.

An embarrassing episode occurred soon after Moon’s inauguration when the Defense Ministry was found to have omitted information about the arrival of an additional four THAAD launchers, after the publicly announced installation of the first two, in a report to the Blue House. 

Suspecting a deliberate hush-up by the military to expedite the THAAD delivery, Moon ordered an inquiry into top defense and security officials.  

The investigation determined that a senior planning officer at the ministry deleted some words in the report, allegedly to keep a confidentiality contract with the USFK. The probe was quickly wrapped up without blaming the defense minister and the recently replaced national security office chief, but it served as a warning against possible noncompliance among the top brass under the new commander in chief. 

It appears that Moon’s policymakers have no intention of seeing the completion of the THAAD deployment before the end of the year, as scheduled by the USFK. 

They may believe time is needed for the new government to seek a diplomatic solution with China, but first they have to decide whether their priority is placating a giant neighbor or earnestly easing the security concerns of their own people. We do not want a tightrope walker in the Blue House.   

What is the purpose of THAAD after all? It can make up for the gap in war capabilities between the North and the South, albeit partially, based on the Korea-US alliance. It is hardly reassuring that a rift developed between the president and military officials over deploying the defensive weapon. 

Also worrisome is the ruling party’s move to hold hearings on THAAD, which is most likely to be extended to a review of the entire security policy of the previous administration.  

Opinion polls show that the Korean public is turning in favor of THAAD as the North’s leader Kim Jong-un has been firing missiles again and again. Even those who had called for caution on account of Chinese objections have turned in favor of the THAAD deployment as a result of the neighboring country’s economic retaliation, which was unbecoming of such a big country. 

THAAD reminds us of the need for self-reliant defense. President Moon should know that he is in a much weaker position than presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun in dealing with Pyongyang because the North now has bigger rockets and nuclear bombs. 

Kim will demand more than his father did if he ever comes to dialogue with us thanks to the “Sunshine Policy” of the new government. 

If Moon seeks to boost his negotiating power, we should acquire greater anti-missile capability, through THAAD, PAC-2 or PAC-3 systems, until we possess attack weapons exceeding North Korea’s. His five-year tenure may not be long enough to reach the goal but he might at least be remembered as the president who tried to reestablish a real balance of power on the Korean Peninsula. 

In the meantime, we all need to keep the spirits of our young soldiers high against the war fantasy of the North Korean dictator. Whatever happens, they will fight to the end to protect our land and will march into enemy territory on the day of final victory.

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By Kim Myong-sik
Kim Myong-sik is a former editorial writer for The Korea Herald. – Ed.