International tensions on the Korean Peninsula have been rising recently. North Korea’s nuclear test and South Korea’s controversial deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system are the main causes, and the combination of the strengthening of the U.S.-South Korean alliance, China’s backlash, and divisions in domestic public opinion have led to a new Cold War centered on the Korean Peninsula.
The recent war has focused international attention on weapons. In the past, North Korea has launched a series of missiles and conducted nuclear tests, and China has imposed economic sanctions on South Korea, including an embargo on its exports. The international community has also put pressure on North Korea through UN security resolutions, restricting the export of crude oil and processed goods to North Korea, and it seems as if a new Cold War has begun on the Korean Peninsula. The reason for this situation is North Korea’s continued nuclear tests and the controversy over South Korea’s deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. In the past, the deployment of THAAD in South Korea has led to conflict within South Korea, as well as a silent war between China and the United States. However, while most people know that THAAD is controversial, they don’t seem to know exactly what it is. What exactly is THAAD and why is the international community so up in arms?
Short for Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, THAAD is a missile defense system manufactured by Lockheed Martin. It’s an air defense system that shoots down enemy ballistic missiles in mid-air and consists of three main components: artillery, radar, and THAAD missiles. The artillery and radar are typically mounted on a transportation vehicle such as a truck or trailer, and the missiles are loaded into the artillery. The THAAD system basically operates one radar and six artillery batteries.
The radar uses the AN/TPY-2 radar, which is said to have a range of about 1800 kilometers. However, this does not mean that THAAD itself can intercept a missile that is 1800 kilometers away. Since the Earth is round, ultra-long-range missiles are not detected by radar unless they are obscured by the horizon and rise to a very high altitude. This is easy to understand if you think about the cross-section of the Earth, where the horizon is blocked near 60 degrees latitude and you can’t see the ground around 30 degrees latitude. And given the fuel and durability of the missiles themselves and the precision of their strikes, the actual intercept range is much narrower than that.
A battery is where the THAAD missiles are launched, and a single battery can hold eight THAAD missiles. Because the batteries are vehicleized, you might think of them as mobile, attacking weapons like tanks. However, since THAAD is an area defense system, it does not move very often, and the vehicleization is intended to facilitate deployment and redeployment and increase fire reliability. A single missile battery set costs about $1.13 billion.
The THAAD missile is the de facto centerpiece of the system, which fires directly at a ballistic missile and uses its kinetic energy to explode the ballistic missile in midair. A single THAAD missile costs about $8.2 million and has different features than a typical missile. Let’s take a look at an example of how a THAAD missile is fired, the process of intercepting a target, its features, and overall operation.
First, the radar detects an ascending airplane. This is called the ‘ascent phase’. At this stage, the radar sends a signal to the control center, but does not intercept the target. Then, in the ‘intermediate phase’, the radar continues to monitor the plane, and when the plane is in range, the control center can issue an intercept order. This is called the terminal phase. If an intercept is ordered during the terminal phase, a THAAD missile is fired at the airplane. The THAAD missile has a receiver, so it receives information from radar on the ground and flies toward the airplane. The THAAD missile continues to climb in altitude, reaching a high altitude where there is little air resistance. At low altitudes, airplanes can use auxiliary or tail wings to change their trajectory using air resistance, but not at the high altitudes where THAAD missiles attempt to intercept, so THAAD missiles do not have auxiliary wings. Instead, it has rocket-like thrusters on the side of the missile that it uses to adjust its course. At high altitudes, infrared light is less scattered by air, making it easier to track targets using infrared light, but at low altitudes, friction with the air raises the temperature of the surface of the THAAD missile, making it harder to distinguish between the infrared light it emits and the infrared light of the target and reducing its accuracy. These characteristics make the THAAD missile a high-altitude-only weapon. The THAAD missile then impacts the target directly, causing it to explode.
If THAAD is deployed for air defense, does that mean there is no other air defense system? Of course not. South Korea currently operates the Patriot PAC-2 interceptor, and plans to acquire additional defenses such as the PAC-3 and L-SAM. However, these defenses are primarily aimed at shooting down aircraft, with a secondary function of intercepting ballistic missiles, which reduces their intercept capability, and as a result, they can only shoot down missiles at 2560 kilometers, which is relatively low to medium altitude compared to THAAD. In other words, while current air defense systems can shoot down short-range missiles flying at relatively low to medium altitudes, it is not easy to shoot down intercontinental ballistic missiles that descend at Mach 10 to 15 from hundreds of kilometers above the ground. For example, assuming a ballistic missile is falling at Mach 10, the time it takes for it to fall from 60 kilometers to 25 kilometers is only 12 seconds. In addition, missile interceptor defense systems by default try to shoot down at high altitude, and if that fails, they try to shoot down at medium altitude, and if that fails, they try to shoot down at low altitude. In other words, THAAD is not the first missile interceptor system, but rather augments and complements existing defenses.
Why is there so much noise about THAAD? If it were simply for local defense, it would not have generated the same amount of public attention. This interest is both international and domestic. First, the U.S. is interested in THAAD because the deployment is largely funded by U.S. capital, and South Korea’s intention is not only to defend itself, but also to deter missiles from North Korea and China. North Korea is sensitive because the more South Korea builds a self-defense system, the stronger the U.S.-South Korea alliance, and the less diplomatic gains it can make from the fear of missiles. For China, the continued growth of U.S. influence in its neighborhood and the perception that the U.S. has placed the means to keep it in check under its chin is a constant source of irritation. Furthermore, a strengthening of the U.S.-South Korea alliance would be unpalatable to Beijing. On the domestic front, the deployment of THAAD has caused land issues, with residents in the area of the THAAD site having to move out of the area surrounding the site, and the spread of information that the electromagnetic fields of the THAAD radar are highly harmful to the body has amplified public opposition. In addition, the deployment of THAAD conflicts with the Sunshine Policy, and those who support the Sunshine Policy with North Korea are also strongly opposed to it.
The THAAD system, which is designed to defend high altitudes not covered by existing defense systems, detects enemy missiles on radar and fires missiles from a battery that tracks and directly strikes the missiles, has been deployed in South Korea and is now operational. However, there is still a lot of controversy about whether the deployment is the right one. There are many factors at play, such as the international community’s attention, the controversy over its effects on the body, and the opposition of local residents, not just the addition of a defense system. In order to analyze these factors and reasonably formulate your own opinion on the issue, you must first have an accurate understanding of what these factors surround.
