[Statement] We Oppose THAAD System Deployment in South Korea
익명 (미확인) 님|화, 2016/02/16- 19:57
We Oppose THAAD System Deployment in South Korea
(Seoul, 16 February 2016) After North Korea conducted its 4th nuclear test and launched a long-range rocket, the governments of South Korea and the US officially announced plans to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea. We are gravely concerned about the negative impact of this planned deployment in South Korea, and strongly urge both governments to avoid deploying this weapon as it will escalate tension on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia, and create further problems related to the North Korean nuclear issue.
The problems we foresee include:
1. Escalation of Military Tension in Northeast Asia
We note with concern that deployment of THAAD in South Korea will make this nation officially part of the Northeast Asia Missile Defense system, led by the US and Japan. This will inevitably escalate military tension between the US-South Korea-Japan and North Korea-China-Russia and the nuclear arms race in the region.
The US and South Korean governments continue to argue that deployment of the THAAD system in South Korea is a response to the existence of North Korean nuclear weapons and missiles. However, THAAD is not an effective tool to defend against North Korean ballistic missiles targeting South Korea, due to its short range and low peak altitude.
Both governments also insist that China has no need to worry as THAAD radars can be fixed towards North Korea and deployed in terminal mode with low detectable range. However, a multitude of experts contend that it is easy to change terminal mode to forward-based mode, putting most Chinese territory under detectable range, regardless of THAAD’s location in South Korea.
We believe the main purpose of THAAD in South Korea will be to use the AN/TPY2 radar to identify and trace in the early stages any mid- to long-range ballistic missile from China or North Korea heading to the US mainland or US army bases in Japan or Guam. Based on information provided by the South Korean government to the US and Japan, the rate of interception by the US Missile Defense strategy will increase.
2. More Difficulty in Resolving Nuclear Issues on the Korean Peninsula
We emphasize that deployment of the THAAD system in South Korea will make it more difficult to resolve nuclear issues on the peninsula, especially due to the strong opposition from China. China has been managing North Korea’s brinkmanship diplomacy through coordination of the Six-Party Talks and support for or even pressure on North Korea. Deployment of THAAD in South Korea will remove the motivation for China to play an active role in continuing to manage North Korea’s nuclear activity or play a constructive role in reopening the 6-party talks. In addition, rather than resolving the North Korean nuclear issue, deploying THAAD in South Korea will justify to North Korea the importance of developing the quality and increasing the numbers of its nuclear weapons to overwhelm the missile defense system.
Fundamentally, the North Korean nuclear crisis is the result of hostile relations between North Korea and the US. These hostile relations on the Korean peninsula can be resolved through dialogue and negotiations between the relevant stakeholders, including North Korea and the US. /END/
그러나 현재 진행하고 있는 일반 환경영향평가는 사드 정식 배치를 위한 요식행위일 뿐입니다. 사드 기지는 「국방·군사시설사업법」과 「환경영향평가법」에 따른 ‘전략 환경영향평가’ 대상임에도 정부는 이를 실시하지 않았고 주민이 사전에 의견을 개진할 기회를 박탈하였습니다. 부지 쪼개기 공여를 통해 소규모 환경영향평가와 환경영향평가를 쪼개어 진행했고, 미군기지 사업이므로 국내법이 적용되지 않는다는 근거 없는 주장을 하며 국내법 절차를 회피해왔습니다. 무엇보다 이미 그동안 사드는 기형적인 ‘임시 배치’ 상태로 운영되어왔고, 「환경영향평가법」상 사전 공사 금지 원칙을 위반한 채 임시 운영을 위한 기지 공사도 진행되어왔습니다. 환경영향평가제도의 목적과 취지를 무시한 채 모든 절차를 불법적으로 진행해놓고 이제 와 환경영향평가 초안을 공람하고 주민 설명회를 개최한다는 것은 기만적인 행위입니다. 이번 환경영향평가를 신뢰할 수도, 인정할 수도 없습니다.
현재 공개된 환경영향평가서 초안 요약서를 살펴봐도 의문점이 한두가지가 아닙니다. 사드 부지의 총 공여 면적은 약 73만㎡임에도, 환경영향평가가 이루어진 사업 면적은 211,000㎡뿐인 이유를 알 수 없습니다. 초안 요약서에 표기된 건축물과 시설물의 면적을 모두 포함하더라도 위 사업 면적에도 미치치 못하는 이유도 알 수 없습니다. 시설물 계획상 콘크리트 패드 면적(4,405㎡)과 토지이용계획상 콘크리트 패드 면적(10,317㎡)이 다르게 표기된 이유도 알 수 없습니다. 또한 초안 요약서에는 사드 기지 사업의 ‘사업 기간’이나 ‘사업자가 누구인지’도 정확히 명시되어 있지 않습니다.
한편 국방부와 주한미군은 앞서 2017년 8만㎡ 부지에 대해 진행된 소규모 환경영향평가 보고서가 “공개될 경우 국가의 중대한 이익을 현저히 해할 우려가 있다고 인정되는 정보”라는 이유로 지금까지 공개하지도 않았습니다. 이번 일반 환경영향평가 초안 역시 군사상 기밀이라는 등의 이유로 온라인상에는 요약서(21p)만을 공개하고 있습니다. 괌에 배치된 사드에 대한 환경영향평가서 전문(352p)이 누구나 볼 수 있도록 웹사이트에 공개되었던 것과 비교하면 황당한 일입니다. 기본적인 정보 공개도 제대로 하지 않는 상황에서 평가 결과를 설명하겠다는 것은 주민을 우롱하는 일입니다.
이에 사드철회평화회의는 3월 2일(목) 당일 성주와 김천 주민 설명회 장소 앞에서 기만적인 환경영향평가를 반대하는 기자회견과 평화행동을 진행할 예정입니다. 사드 정식 배치를 위한 요식행위일 뿐인 환경영향평가를 인정할 수 없다는 점을 분명히 밝히고, 사드 기지 정상화 중단과 사드 철거의 목소리를 높일 예정입니다.
The governments of the United States and South Korea will conduct a large-scale ROK-US Combined Military Exercise, Freedom Shield (FS), beginning March 13. According to the media, during this period, the ROK-US Combined Forces Command will practice scenarios such as beheading the North Korean leadership, ousting commanders, and stabilization operations in North Korea, and will also intensively conduct a large-scale field exercise named Warrior Shield (WS). US Strategic assets including strategic bombers are expected to be part of the exercise, and the ROK-US-Japan Ballistic Missile Defence drill has also been announced for later this month.
In response, on 7 March 2023, the held a press conference in front of the Yongsan Presidential Office and issued a joint statement. Military tensions on the Korean Peninsula are very high and are heading towards power-to-power confrontation without any measures to prevent a conflict. It is imperative that the ROK-US Combined Military Exercises are immediately suspended before they lead to a larger crisis. Suspending the ROK-US Combined Military Exercises could be a decisive step in reopening the door to dialogue and diplomacy between the two Koreas and the US and DPRK.
The joint statement was proposed by the <Korea Peace Appeal Campaign>, <Korea Peace Now Grassroots Network>, <Peace Treaty Now> and was endorsed by 745 South Korean organizations and 99 US and international civil society organizations. The statement was also delivered to the Office of the South Korean President and the US Embassy in Seoul.
ROK·US·International Civil Society Statement
Call to Resolve the Threat of War on the Korean Peninsula and Suspend ROK-US Combined Military Exercises
As people who act for peace in South Korea, the US, and worldwide, we are deeply concerned about the elevating military tension on the Korean Peninsula. We must suspend all military actions, including ROK-US Combined Military Exercises.
Despite the opening toward peace through the Inter-Korean and DPRK-US Summits in 2018, the once-discontinued ROK-US Combined Military Exercises resumed in just a year, and the relationship between the two Koreas and the DPRK-US has progressively deteriorated. Last year, North Korea withdrew its four-year commitment to suspend nuclear tests and ICBM test launches because of the US hostile policy and military threats.
The situation is getting worse after the inauguration of the Yoon Suk-yeol government. Both the US and South Korea announced plans to expand the scale of ROK-US Combined Military Exercises and enhance the Extended Deterrence Strategy, and for the first time in 5 years, military exercises with aircraft carriers and strategic bombers have resumed on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea has also declared corresponding military operations and started military exercises. Although it was in the open sea, North and South Korea exchanged missile launches close to their rivals’ sea border, causing tensions to ratchet up even further. At that time, a failed missile launch from South Korea crashed in Gangneung, leaving the residents in the dark for hours, terrified. Moreover, North and South Korea have crossed the Military Demarcation Line by deploying unmanned aerial vehicles. At the 70th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice, the reality is that the armistice itself is at stake.
ROK and US authorities are claiming that the ROK-US Combined Military Exercises are annual defense drills, but the truth is different. It appears that the drills are based on operation plans that reportedly include pre-emptive strikes and decapitation measures against North Korea, large-scale deployment of US troops and strategic assets assuming an all-out war, etc. Over the last several decades, air force bombers like B-1B, B-2, and B-52 which are nuclear-capable, nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, nuclear-powered submarines, large-scale deployments of US-ROK troops, etc. were mobilized. Due to their size and character, the ROK-US Combined Military Exercises have intensified the military and political tension on the Korean Peninsula.
The ROK and US governments have given notice that they would carry out the most extensive field exercises in March by mobilizing the largest number of troops and strategic assets ever, and have already started several ROK-US Combined Military Exercises since January. ROK-US-Japan Military Cooperation has also developed to the level of a military alliance. North Korea is also taking military action, including missile drills, warning that “We will respond at all times and take strong overwhelming actions”.
The situation is rapidly moving toward great power confrontation with no countermeasures to prevent conflict. Large-scale military action mobilized with real weapons only increases the risk of accidental clashes. We know well how a show of force has led to war in the case of several countries. It is only a matter of time before an unprecedented military crisis or war transpires.
War exercises that heighten the threat of war on the Korean Peninsula must stop. We must acknowledge that isolation, military pressure, and sanctions have not accomplished peace and denuclearization in Korea but only brought about resistance from North Korea, and we must lay down our hostility.
Today, the entire world, including the Korean Peninsula, is facing complex crises such as climate, infectious disease, food, and economic crises. We cannot solve these crises unless we cooperate and stop blocization and military confrontations. In particular, the reality is that there is no information or controls on the carbon emitted during large-scale military training and war preparations, such as deploying strategic bombers. Military drills threaten the Earth and human beings, and they must stop.
We must end the Korean war that has afflicted all members of the Korean Peninsula for over 70 years, and redirect the cost of destructive weapons to solving inequality and the climate crisis. It is time to end hostility and confrontation and strive for a peaceful and sustainable world through reconciliation and cooperation.
The suspension of the ROK-US combined military exercises will play a decisive role in re-establishing the forum for dialogue and diplomacy between the two Koreas and between the DPRK and the US. We call on the ROK and US governments to choose wisely.
7 March 2023
Korea Peace Appeal Organizations in South Korea (745)
US Civil Society Organizations (48) Action One Korea American Peace Information Center Answer Coalition Atlanta Civic Action Channing and Popai Liem Education Foundation China-US Solidarity Network Coalition of Koreans in America (CKA) CODEPINK Education Center for Tomorrow Environmentalists Against War Friends Peace Teams-Asia West Pacific GA Peace Forum Gandhi Alliance for Peace Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space HOA–Hawaiʻi Okinawa Alliance Korea Peace Now Grassroots Network Korea Peace Now! Korea Policy Institute Korean American National Coordinating Council, Inc. Korean American Public Action Committee (KAPAC) Korean Americans for the Progressive Party of Korea (KAPP) KPNGN PNW Maine Natural Guard Massachusetts Peace Action Military Poisons MinKwon Center for Community Action New England Korea Peace Campaign NH Peace Action Nodutdol for Korean Community Development Parallax Perspectives Peace Action Peace Action of San Mateo County Peaceworkers Phil Berrigan Memorial Chapter Veterans For Peace Presbyterian Peace Network for Korea Proposition One Campaign for a Nuclear-Free Future RootsAction Seattle Evergreen Coalition Show Up! America The Least of These Church Justice & Peace Committee Utah Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (UCAN) Veterans For Peace, Spokane Chapter #35 Veterans For Peace’s Korea Peace Campaign Washington Butterfly for Hope Women Against War Women Cross DMZ Women for Genuine Security Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) US
International Civil Society Organizations (51) 6.15공동선언실천 해외측위원회 6.16공동선언실천 일본지역위원회 재일한국민주여성회 재일한국민주통일일연합 도쿄본부 재일한국민주통일일연합 중앙본부 한민족유럽연대 1923 Korea-Japan Citizens’ Solidarity Blue Banner, Mongolia Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), Canada Center for Peace Education, Philippines Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies (CPCS), Cambodia Commission 4 of the ILPS, Canada Coop Anti-War Cafe Berlin, Germany Freante Antiimperialista Internacionalista, Spain German East Asia Mission (DOAM), Germany Ingenieurkonsulent für Kulturtechnik und Wasserwirtschaft, Europe International Peace Bureau (IPB), Germany International Women’s Network against Militarism Northeast Asia Regional Peacebuilding Institute (NARPI) Peace Boat, Japan Peace Depot Inc. Japan Peace for East Asia (PEASIA), Canada Peace Treaty Now (PTN) Peace Women Across The Globe (PWAG), Switzerland Peace Women Partners, Philippines Prutehi Litekyan Save Ritidian, Guam Queen’s Collegiate, Canada Stop the War Coalition Philippines The Hwamok Fellowship The United Church of Canada Unity of Women for Freedom – Philippines Women Against Nuclear Power, Finland Women for Peace, Finland Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) Kyoto World Beyond War 福岡県日朝協会 原水爆禁止日本国民会議 日本朝鮮学術教育交流協会 日朝友好連帯群馬県民会議 日朝友好連帯埼玉県民会議 日朝友好連帯千葉県の会 日朝友好神奈川県民会議 朝鮮女性と連帯する日本婦人連絡会 朝鮮学校「無償化」排除に反対する連絡会 朝鮮の自主的平和統一支持する京都委員会 朝鮮の自主的平和統一を支持する日本委員会 朝鮮の自主的平和統一を支持する長野県民会議 平和憲法を守る荒川の会 戦争への道を許さない北・板橋・豊島の女たちの会 フォーラム平和・人権・環境
Signature Campaign to End the Korean War
시민들의 의견
댓글 달기