Now Trump wants South Korea to pay for Thaad antimissle system

[womanofthehills]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/28/world/asia/trump-south-korea-thaad-missile-defense-north-korea.html

SEOUL, South Korea — President Trump’s comment that he wants South Korea to pay for a missile defense system being set up in the country jolted its presidential race on Friday and surprised the government, leaving it scrambling to figure out the intentions of a close ally.

In an interview with Reuters on Thursday, Mr. Trump said that he wanted South Korea to pay for the system, known as Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or Thaad, whose cost he estimated at $1 billion.

He also said that he wanted to renegotiate or terminate what he called a “horrible” trade agreement with South Korea because of a deep trade deficit. “Very soon,” he said when asked when he would announce his intention to renegotiate the pact. “I’m announcing it now.”

In South Korea, Mr. Trump’s comments shook the race to choose a successor to Park Geun-hye, the former president who was formally ousted last month after being impeached by Parliament in December. The election is on May 9.

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. That's it , he MUST go and right NOW!

stupid cocksucker has NO CLUE what he is doing

No, I am not suggesting anything be done to him in a violent manner, simply suggesting people like McCain find their patriot pants and put them on and impeach the criminal.

[jpak]

2. What an asshole

yup

[Sgent]

3. Is there any reason the shouldn't?

It seems reasonable to me for them to pay for their defense. I have no idea if 1B is the right figure, but paying for at least the marginal cost of providing the system seems... normal.

We don't give the UK and Australia free aircraft and other items, and SK is a wealthy country.

[OneBlueDotBama]

6. Maybe We Should Ship Them A Million Chevys.

And make them pay for them, did SK ask for these?

Why in the middle of an election would he feel the need to utter such garbage?

[Eliot Rosewater]

9. Obviously the problem isnt the money, the problem is the TERRIBLE

timing to bring it up, for one thing, and the last person alive who should be involved in anything that involves the health of more than 2 people, let alone 6 billion, is that dumb shit in the WH.

[Eliot Rosewater]

7. SK is a wealthy country?

link?

[Sgent]

13. They have about 10% lower GDP per capitia income than Japan

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/south-korea/gdp-per-capita

Ok, wealthy might have been an overstatement, but Greece funds their own military, and has less.

[womanofthehills]

14. This is an interesting article - South Korea can get along with the cheaper Patriot PAC-3 but...

Nothing is ever what it seems to be.

Why America's THAAD Deployment to South Korea Is Making China Go Crazy

THAAD interceptors do not necessarily add much capacity to counter the North Korean missile threat to South Korea,” Bryan Clark a military analyst for the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment (CSBA) tells Scout Warrior. “They are designed to intercept faster, longer-range ballistic missiles as they start their terminal phase after they reenter the atmosphere. The short-range ballistic missiles North Korea would use against South Korea can be defeated by Patriot PAC-3 and PAC-3 MSE, which are less expensive and carried in larger numbers by U.S. forces.

http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/why-americas-thaad-deployment-south-korea-making-china-go-19785

[tammywammy]

17. PAC-3 is already deployed in South Korea.

PAC-3 & THAAD defend against different types of threats. They're not interchangeable.

[Wellstone ruled]

4. Holy cow,this POS will

get his Tin Soldier War. Somebody has to slap this bitch side the head and tell him about the Treaties and Trade Deals that followed the Korean War. Don't think the Park Family will sit still after this Stupid Statement.

[gordianot]

8. As much as Kim Jong Un praised the Orange one it makes you wonder?

If this whole thing is just another scheme to get money. It appears to me Trump may be running protection rackets NATO, South Korea etc.

[Wellstone ruled]

12. Remember the Idiot Con Job

has stated,we have not won a war since WW2,and we got to win Wars. The Guy has a Narcissistic personality disorder,and that makes him a Hand Grenade with a pulled pin.

[underpants]

5. Look at his own history, he tries hard to weasel out of paying anything

He's a cheap a-hole

[gordianot]

10. Not weasel just a crook ostentatious a-hole with bad taste.

[bettyellen]

11. That's the only "negotiating" he ever does. Cheap ass MF.

[samnsara]

15. can we send apologies to S Korea? Let them know trumps a fake prez and mistake we are hoping...

...will be gone VERY soon?

[womanofthehills]

16. China is mad about Thaad and is punishing South Korea economically

Angry China Puts Economic Squeeze on South Korea: QuickTake Q&A

China is fuming about the U.S. deploying a missile defense system in South Korea -- and Korean companies are feeling the impact. While the U.S. says the system, known as Thaad, is meant to defend against attack from North Korea, the Chinese see it as a threat. Now China is curbing travel to South Korea and targeting Korean companies that operate in the mainland.

1. Weren’t South Korea and China growing closer?

Until recently, yes. Chinese President Xi Jinping boasted in 2014 the two countries were “shoulder-to-shoulder good neighbors and good partners.” A free-trade agreement went into effect in 2015, with China agreeing to end $54.5 billion of duties on imports from South Korea. China is South Korea’s largest trading partner, buying a quarter of the country’s exports.

2. Why is China so upset now?

While the U.S. regards Thaad as a counter to recent missile launches by North Korea, China says the system will break the regional strategic balance. With South Korea and the U.S. moving ahead despite China’s objections, state-run Global Times said March 1: “Chinese consumers should become the main force in teaching Seoul a lesson.”

3. Which Korean companies are most vulnerable?

The tourism sector faces an immediate threat. More than 8 million Chinese visited South Korea last year and Chinese make up 85 percent of tourists to the resort island of Jeju. Curbs on visitors to South Korea could cut tourism revenue by about $5 billion, Goldman Sachs estimates, hurting cosmetics companies like Amorepacific Corp. and retailers like Lotte Shopping Co. Already, Chinese authorities have suspended the operations of 55 Lotte Mart stores in the mainland because of alleged fire-safety violations and some Chinese
Shanghai Foods, a joint venture with Hershey Co., has been told by Chinese authorities to stop production at its factory for a month.

https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-03-08/angry-china-puts-economic-squeeze-on-south-korea-quicktake-q-a