Kaesong and thaad: South Korea's decisions to counter the North

North Korea’s long-range missile test on February 7, 2016, and fourth nuclear test in January represented clear violations of United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR) and serious challenges to peace in Asia. The government of the Republic of Korea (ROK) was under intense pressure to do something in response. President Park Geun-hye decided to suspend the Kaesong Industrial Complex, a joint manufacturing park on the northern side of the inter-Korean border that, since 2004, combined South Korean technology, management, and investment with North Korean labor. The Park government also formally initiated bilateral discussions about positioning in South Korea a U.S. missile defense system known as Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD).