Genial region, not THAAD, best for ROK's security

LUO JIE/CHINA DAILY

What the Republic of Korea truly needs to safeguard its national security is a friendly neighborhood rather than the US' Terminal High-Altitude Air Defense system that will pose a threat to surrounding countries such as China. The decision of Seoul and Washington early last month to deploy the system on the Korean Peninsula will break the strategic balance in Northeast Asia, threatening regional peace and stability and signal the beginning of a new Cold War.

With THAAD's X-band radar commanding surveillance of an area of more than 1,900 kilometers from the peninsula, the United States can spy on almost half of China's territory and the southern part of Russia's Far East, endangering the two countries' national security.

The ROK's move represents a departure from its courageous shift from confrontation to cooperation to break the curse of the Cold War, highlighted by Seoul hosting the 1988 Olympic Games. The Seoul Olympics was a turning point in its history, which opened the road to economic prosperity thanks to a better security environment.