Canceling press conference indicates sensitivity of issue
Six South Korean lawmakers, in Beijing to discuss the deployment of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) missile system with a Chinese think tank, abruptly canceled a scheduled press conference Tuesday in the wake of the meeting.
The sudden cancelation may show caution from the lawmakers and the extreme sensitivity of the issue, after South Korean President Park Geun-hye, politicians and members of the public had called them "traitors" or "flunkies for China," observers said.
The lawmakers were led by Kim Young-ho, a member of the South Korean National Assembly's Security and Public Administration Committee, and are from the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK). They met with scholars from the Pangoal Institution in western Beijing for three hours on Tuesday morning to discuss issues surrounding the controversial missile deployment, which China strongly opposes.
The meeting was planned to be open to journalists and have a Q&A session, but it ended up behind closed doors, and instead of the promised press conference, a joint statement was issued, saying only that the two sides had deep and frank communication on issues affecting Sino-South Korean ties.
The lawmakers, who arrived on Monday and are expected to leave Wednesday, did not meet with Chinese officials.
Kim Byung-wook, one of the lawmakers, told reporters upon arriving at Beijing Capital International Airport that "we have come here to study with those who are interested in issues related to establishing peace and order in Northeast Asia, including North Korea's denuclearization, and make mutual exchanges," Yonhap News Agency reported Monday.
The visit comes as tensions between the two nations rise in the wake of Seoul's July decision to deploy the THAAD system in South Korea by the end of 2017.
China has repeatedly lodged strong protests against the decision, citing the missile system's threat to China and the region's strategic security interests, as well as the negative impact on the process for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.
Although the Chinese government has not imposed any official sanctions following the announcement of the THAAD deployment, public calls to boycott South Korean pop stars and products have been growing in China, with the tourist and entertainment sectors already showing signs of impact.
Domestic pressures
The South Korea public remains divided over the THAAD deployment.
Koo Jaryong, chief correspondent of South Korean newspaper Dong-A Ilbo, told the Global Times that some 40 percent of people are against it, although for varying reasons.
But the visit to Beijing by MPK politicians also received strong opposition.
After arriving in Beijing, many South Korean protestors held banners with the word "traitors" to protest the visit, according to a South Korean journalist who is following the group's trip.
Following Monday's criticism of the lawmakers as "sympathizing with the opinions of China as well as North Korea," Park on Tuesday targeted the opposition again, saying criticism over the THAAD deployment is not only stirring up the public, but is also risking people's lives under the threat of North Korea's nuclear weapons and rockets.
The New York Times reported on Monday that Park's governing Saenuri Party called the six lawmakers "flunkies for China."
Zheng Jiyong, director of the Center for Korean Studies at Shanghai-based Fudan University told the Global Times that it is not helpful for Park to use such negative language as it won't improve relations between Beijing and Seoul.
"China's anti-THAAD position and tough response to South Korea has made several South Korean politicians consider engaging with China over the issue. This is better than putting off the problem," Zheng said.
The South Korean government has tried to paint the anti-THAAD protesters as "traitors receiving support from foreign forces" to damage its political opposition in the run-up to next year's general election, as currently, the opposition holds the majority in parliament, Lü Chao, an expert in Korean studies at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.
Lü said he believes the caution after the meeting was caused by pressure the lawmakers received from their own country.
"Park's administration is trying to use THAAD to push China to impose heavier sanctions against North Korea, and many South Korean scholars are trying to convince China that the fundamental reason for the THAAD deployment is North Korea's nuclear weapons," Lü said.
However, Lü said that the deployment, in addition to damaging China's national security, may provoke Pyongyang even further. He lauded the six lawmakers for coming and trying to establish a dialogue, despite the strong opposition from home.
