한반도 사드배치에 대한 중국의 위협인식과 대응전략 －힘, 정체성, 지정학 요인을 중심으로－ = China’s Threat Perception and Response Strategy toward the THAAD Deployment in South Korea －Focusing on Power, Identity, Geopolitics Factors－

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This year celebrates the 25th anniversary of the 1992 establishment of South Korea-China diplomatic relations. However, due to the conflict surrounding the THAAD(Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile) deployment issue, relationship between South Korea and China is said to be going through its greatest crisis since their diplomatic establishment. Since the launch of the then-new South Korean government in 2013, the relationship between the countries were regarded as going through its best period ever; but the THAAD deployment issue quickly cooled the relationship. THAAD deployment was confirmed by the South Korean government as aftermath of North Korea’s fourth nuclear testing in 2016, when the perceived North Korean nuclear threat was at its peak. Since then, China has strongly voiced its opinions, pressuring the South Korean government both diplomatically and in the form of economic retaliation. It is proving difficult to find a breakthrough. This paper points out the importance of accurately identifying China’s perceived threat in resolving the conflict of South Korea- China relationships surrounding the THAAD issues. The purpose of this paper is to analyze China’s perceived threat based on THAAD-related papers published in China, and to understand China’s strong objections towards THAAD. This paper emphasizes that China’s perceived threat is consolidated around the complex interplay of power, identity, and geopolitics factors and that continued academic and policy-related attention is required to accurately understand them. Successful diplomatic solutions might be hard to come to unless China’s perceived threat can be understood accurately.