Comments on: Will ROK Join BMD (Ballistic Missile Defense)?

By: stacked

stacked — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 09:02:10 +0000

China’s warmongering is going to lead to a deployment of a THAAD system but I think the primary focus right now are the patriot missile defense system and system of drones to counter artillery.

China isn’t a threat and it may not be a threat for a decade or two depending on Russia’s willingness to sell technology.

By: ssn

ssn — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 03:12:21 +0000

Actually, I’m an American in Iraq. Why the Canuk flag is there puzzles me. PAC3 (Patriot) is good for a protecting a base or small part of a city. If Seoul wants to prevent bullying from the Chinese (who’d shoot from deep in China) Patriot batteries are irrelevant since the incoming missile is too fast. You’d need something like THAAD instead. I’ll be interested to see how this plays out.

By: Stacked

Stacked — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 19:32:53 +0000

I’m happy to finally see some smart decisions from the president.

South Korea has been developing its own ballistic missile defense system for a while now. The SAM-X project is slated to deploy Patriot missiles this year so its good timing by LMB.

By: SomeguyinKorea

SomeguyinKorea — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 13:04:21 +0000

#2,

I thought it was for “Beer of Mass Destruction”…or “Bong of Mass Distortion”.

By: Haksaeng

Haksaeng — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 10:22:07 +0000

I agree with you, Mins, I don’t expect to see the ROK join the US Missile Defense (MD) plan anytime soon. The current Korean plan will give similar coverage to a PAC-3 shield, which is probably good enough for its own needs. Joining MD would be expensive, and Korea would largely lose control of any units that fall under MD.

By: Hwarang

Hwarang — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 09:41:11 +0000

should have read “back and forth…”

By: Hwarang

Hwarang — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 09:40:16 +0000

For the U.S., I believe we call these systems TMD (not BMD), for Theater Missile Defense. The acronym may have gotten torqued by Naver or the ROK JCS after having the phrase translated several times back and forth between English and Korean.

By: Wedge

Wedge — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 08:36:16 +0000

I’m with Tom: It’s good style to define acronyms so even us dim waygooks can understand. Although I know the ones in question, thanks Mins for clarifying your post.

By: parkjk

parkjk — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 06:29:13 +0000

Well, that’s two Americans who can’t understand the post.

I guess Canadians are smarter than Americans after all.

By: mins0306

mins0306 — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 06:27:43 +0000

I’m kind of surprised that Tom isn’t familiar with the issue of ballistic missile defense.

Anyway, I’ve added translations to the acronyms.