China’s Retaliation to THAAD... Seoul, China Put Differences Behind

The standoff between South Korea and China over the deployment of the THAAD antimissile system on the Korean Peninsula continued for the majority 2017 before the two countries agreed to mend ties at the end of October.

Since then, China’s retaliatory measures against South Korea have been partially eased. However, it is expected to take more time for bilateral relations to see a full recovery.

Tensions between Seoul and Beijing began to mount when two THAAD launchers arrived at Osan Air Base in March and after THAAD launchers and radars were taken to the THAAD site in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province at the end of April.

China ratcheted up its retaliation against South Korea by placing a de facto ban on South Korean cultural content which included prohibiting South Korean singers from performing in China.

China also conducted massive tax investigations and safety inspections on the Chinese offices and stores of South Korean conglomerate Lotte Group, which had provided the site for the THAAD deployment. Some of Lotte Mart branches in China were later ordered to shut down temporarily. Beijing also applied a travel ban on group tours to South Korea.



Amid North Korea’s continued missile provocations, Seoul and Washington held consultations on provisionally installing the remaining THAAD launchers. Tensions mounted when four remaining THAAD launchers were deployed on September seventh, a few days after North Korea’s sixth nuclear test.

Finally, after a series of under-the-table negotiations around the Communist Party of China’s 19th Congress, Seoul and Beijing unveiled on October 31st that they agreed to leave behind the disagreement over THAAD and swiftly normalize bilateral ties in all fields.

With the accord, China’s economic retaliation against THAAD has begun to ease. However, cause of discord remains over three pledges South Korea made when it agreed to end the THAAD dispute. The pledges are not to accept additional THAAD launchers, not to take part in a regional missile defense system with the U.S. and Japan and not to join a trilateral military alliance with the U.S. and Japan.

Photo : Yonhap News, KBS News

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