South Korea halts THAAD deployment
Print Edition
SOUTH Korea is to suspend further deployment of a controversial US missile defense system until the completion of an environmental impact assessment ordered by President Moon Jae-in, his office said yesterday.
Last year, under Moon’s predecessor, Park Geun-hye, the country agreed to deploy the system to guard against what Seoul and Washington claimed were threats from nuclear-armed North Korea. This was despite opposition from China, which views the system as a threat to its military capabilities.
Two missile launchers have been deployed in the southern county of Seongju, where hundreds of residents have staged protests over potential environmental hazards posed by the batteries used in the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system.
There is “no need to withdraw” the two launchers that have already been deployed, a senior official at South Korea’s presidential office told reporters yesterday.
However, “additional deployment should be carried out only after the environmental impact assessment is over,” the official added.
“We do not view the deployment process as urgent enough to bypass the whole environmental impact assessment,” he said.
The deployment freeze comes two days after Moon ordered a “proper” investigation into the potential environmental impact of the missile batteries in a bid to win greater public support for the project.
Four more launchers recently arrived in South Korea and are currently being stored at a US army base in the country, which plays host to some 28,500 US troops as a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War.
South Korea’s army came under fire this week after Moon — who expressed ambivalence about THAAD on the campaign trail — accused it of withholding key information about the progress of the system.
According to Moon’s office, top military brass who briefed Moon’s national security adviser last month deliberately withheld information about the arrival of the four new launchers.
A senior defense ministry official was removed from his post over the incident.
Defense Minister Han Min-koo — appointed by Park and widely expected to be replaced soon — admitted the presence of the new launchers only when pressed by Moon in a phone conversation last week.
The military cited a confidentiality agreement with the US military as a reason to hide the critical information from South Korea’s new commander-in-chief, according to a probe into senior army officials.
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said yesterday that China was following South Korea’s domestic debate over THAAD.
“China’s position is very clear. No matter what happens, we are firmly opposed to the deployment of the THAAD system by the US in South Korea,” she said during a regular press briefing.
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