South Korea and the United States have agreed to deploy the US Army’s Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, an advanced air defence shield, in the Northeast Asian nation to counter the growing threat posed by North Korea’s military provocations.
The move was announced in Seoul on 8 July after five months of discussions between the two countries.
“South Korea and the US have made the joint decision to deploy the THAAD system with US Forces Korea (USFK) as part of a defensive action to guarantee the security of the Republic of Korea and our people from North Korea’s nuclear weapons, weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile threats,” Yoo Jeh-seung, South Korea’s deputy minister for policy at the Ministry of National Defence said at a press conference, according to Yonhap news agency.
No date has been set for the deployment of the air defence system, although officials said they plan to announce the site for deployment “within a couple of weeks”. It is also unclear who will ultimately have control over it.
“The allies aim to be able to start actually operating THAAD in South Korea at least by the end of 2017, but we will make efforts to complete deployment before the target period,” Yoo was quoted as saying.
The specific location of the deployment, however, will not be made public due to operational secrets. According to Yonhap, four locations are being cited as possible deployment sites, among which is Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, where USFK’s new headquarters is based; Wonju, an eastern city close to the inter-Korean border; as well as the southern town of Chilgok.
Yoo emphasised that THAAD will not be used against any other countries in the region, playing down China’s concerns. “The deployment of THAAD will contribute to a multi-layer missile defence and strengthen the South Korea-US alliance’s defence capabilities against North Korea’s missile intimidation,” he said.
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