U.S. Secretary of state Rex Tillerson arrived in South Korea, faced with many challenges that would frighten even the most seasoned diplomat.
The impeachment of President Park Geun-Hye a week ago not only stirred the internal politics, but also called into question the balance of relations between Washington and Seoul at a time of heightened tension on the Korean Peninsula. Tillerson questioned U.S. policy toward North Korea and is working on a new approach. He visited the demilitarized zone (DMZ), the heavily fortified border between South and North Korea, on Friday morning, after which he is expected to meet with acting President Hwang Keon and the Minister of foreign Affairs Yun Byung-se.
It is expected that Tillerson will seek assurances that South Korea will continue to respect the agreement on the deployment of a missile defense system (THAAD), the first of which arrived earlier this month in South Korea. Koreans go to the polls may 9 to choose a replacement Park. The upcoming elections are expected to be held in favor of the "Moons Jae-in" the Democratic United party, which in 2012 lost Park. Party Muna criticized the agreement THAAD and offered to reconsider it, stating that the Park had to obtain the approval of the National Assembly prior to deployment.
On the other hand, their conservative critics to accuse them in an effort to reassure North Korea and to be closer to China, which is strictly against weapons systems.
Kim young-Woo, a conservative lawmaker and Chairman of the defense Commission, the Korean national Assembly, told CNN that "the entire Korean Peninsula is now in a very dangerous situation." He said that if the future government will try to renegotiate the deployment of THAAD, "our Alliance (with the US) can be weakened."
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