What Compels South Korea to Build Up Its Defense Capabilities

The interests of South Korea have once again fallen victim to the interests of larger powers: the United States and China. Washington is currently circulating a draft of a U.N. Security Council resolution against North Korea for its recent nuclear and missile tests — a resolution that stands a much better chance of being passed if it is supported by China. In return for China's cooperation, the United States will halt the potential deployment of a controversial air defense system to South Korea, according to several news agencies. Some of those news agencies suggest that Washington has even backtracked on its claim that Seoul urgently needed the defense system. These media outlets are portraying this as a U.S. attempt to curry favor with Beijing so that stricter sanctions can be levied against North Korea.

If true, Washington's ploy may well appease Beijing in the short term, but it raises some long-term concerns for Seoul, particularly ahead of parliamentary elections. If South Korean lawmakers decide they no longer want to be at the mercy of the United States, they could also decide to move forward more quickly and more enthusiastically with their country's push to build up its own defense industry. But the factors driving this push are not always so blatant. South Korea often finds itself caught between the interests and actions of the much larger China and United States, and this only adds impetus to South Korea's defense effort.