BERLIN -- President Moon Jae-in’s first summit with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping is likely to reel under the aftermath of North Korea’s recent launch of a long-range missile which is seen as capable of hitting the US mainland.

The two are set to meet in Berlin on Thursday morning, local time, before heading to Hamburg for the annual Group of 20 summit.

Their first encounter is to take place amid ongoing tension over the deployment of an advanced US anti-missile battery on the Korean Peninsula, as well as North Korea’s launch of an inter-continental ballistic missile on Tuesday.

South Korea and China have long been at odds over the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, however tensions seemed to have calmed slightly since President Moon expressed caution over its hurried deployment after he was sworn-in.

Speculations thus escalated that the two state leaders may temporarily shelve the THAAD controversy during their first face-to-face talk, choosing to place more focus on regional security and economic partnership.

But with North Korea pushing ahead with its nuclear ambition and increasing tension against the South Korea-US alliance, it has become plausible that China should raise its voice upon the anti-missile battery.

In his bilateral summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, the Chinese leader reiterated his opposition to THAAD, accusing the deployment of bringing serious harm to the strategic security interest of the peninsula’s neighbors.

“North Korea’s missile test will escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula, which will be reflected in the US and South Korean determination to deploy the THAAD system,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a briefing, following the launch on Tuesday.

China’s view on THAAD was that its deployment was a run-up to the US ambition to expand its military presence in the Asian region, which the US has refuted, claiming it to be a protective measure against possible attacks from the North.

The fact that the North is now capable of hitting the US mainland with its missiles, thus setting a milestone in its nuclear armament plan, has provided further grounds on the allies’ deployment plan.

President Moon, who has so far underlined the necessity of peaceful talks with Pyongyang, has shown signs of stiffening up against the communist regime.

South Korea and the US jointly staged a ballistic missile exercise on Wednesday upon the suggestion of President Moon, sending a warning sign to North Korea and its leader Kim Jong-un.

“There is the need to display our solid alliance in missile defense to North Korea once and for all,” Moon said, before leaving for Germany.


By Bae Hyun-jung
Korea Herald correspondent
(tellme@heraldcorp.com)