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by Chen Shilei
BEIJING, July 30 (Xinhua) -- South Korea should stop playing with fire by hosting the U.S. anti-missile system on its own soil, as the move will not only isolate itself but also undermine regional stability.
Less than two weeks ago, South Korea and the United States reached the agreement to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) in the southern region of South Korea, despite continued opposition from neighboring nations.
Although the two countries claimed THAAD will not target any other third party but will be operated only in response to nuclear and missile threats from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the deployment is no doubt a key step in the U.S. strategy of pivoting to Asia and will escalate tensions in Northeast Asia, especially on the Korean Peninsula.
It is believed that Seoul knows what the consequences of hosting THAAD are, but its siding with Washington for whatever reasons on THAAD shows its short-sightedness and poor diplomatic judgment.
While being useless in the face of the DPRK's short-range missiles and artillery, THAAD is already pushing the DPRK to be aggressive. The DPRK warned it would take "physical measures" and it test-fired three short-range ballistic missiles in a show of force against its southern neighbor's decision.
Read the full story at Xinhua