{"id":2198511,"date":"2022-08-24T20:57:26","date_gmt":"2022-08-24T11:57:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nknews.org\/pro\/?p=2198511"},"modified":"2023-04-05T16:11:42","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T07:11:42","slug":"why-the-next-30-years-of-south-korea-china-ties-wont-be-as-rosy-as-the-last","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/08\/why-the-next-30-years-of-south-korea-china-ties-wont-be-as-rosy-as-the-last\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the next 30 years of South Korea-China ties won’t be as rosy as the last"},"content":{"rendered":"
Despite the well-wishing from South Korea and China to mark the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations, Beijing\u2019s intensifying rivalry with the U.S. looks set to fundamentally limit those ties going forward.<\/span><\/p>\n On Wednesday evening, leaders Yoon Suk-yeol and Xi Jinping marked the occasion by <\/span>exchanging letters<\/span><\/a> expressing their desires for \u201cnew directions of cooperation\u201d and a \u201csubstantive friendship.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n This reflects the hope for a relationship that has evolved quite significantly over the past few decades: According to <\/span>data<\/span><\/a> from the Korea International Trade Association published just this week, South Korea\u2019s exports to China are a mammoth 160 times greater than they were when the two countries established relations relations \u2014 far greater than the 5.2 and 2.4-fold increases during the same period for the U.S. and Japan, respectively.<\/span><\/p>\n Unfortunately for South Korea, it is increasingly forced to side with its security guarantor at the expense of its largest trading partner.<\/span><\/p>\n THAAD: RAD OR BAD?<\/b><\/p>\n The deployment of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (<\/span>THAAD<\/span><\/a>) missile interceptor demonstrates South Korea\u2019s conundrum well.<\/span><\/p>\n Seoul initially deployed THAAD five years ago in response to North Korea\u2019s ever-improving missile capabilities, but consequently endured retaliatory <\/span>economic losses<\/span><\/a> from China. Beijing protested that the system\u2019s radar could be used to track its own missile forces, therefore weakening its nuclear deterrent vis-\u00e0-vis Washington.<\/span><\/p>\n Although the previous Moon Jae-in government convinced China to end the pressure campaign by promising that it wouldn\u2019t deploy any more THAAD batteries, the new Yoon Suk-yeol administration now says that it <\/span>won\u2019t promise anything<\/span><\/a> that compromises its ability to defend itself. This could <\/span>risk<\/span><\/a> another round of Chinese retaliatory measures.<\/span><\/p>\n