Publication

This text analyzes the secondary impacts South Korea’s decision to deploy the THAAD anti-missile system might have on Sino-American and Sino-Korean relations. While the system will provide South Korea with additional protection against North Korean missile attacks, its radar range will be large enough to cover Chinese missile activity, and thereby 1) drastically improve the effectiveness of US ballistic missile defense efforts, and 2) diminish China’s nuclear deterrent. According to the text’s author, this potential shift in the local balance-of-power may encourage Beijing to expand its nuclear arsenal and further strain its diplomatic relations with the ROK and US.