THAAD deployed ‘in 8 to 10 months’
Print Edition
THE commander of US forces in South Korea said yesterday that a US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system battery would be deployed to South Korea within eight to 10 months, an official from the US forces in South Korea said.
The official was commenting on a Yonhap news agency report on remarks by Vincent Brooks, commander of United States Forces Korea, at a breakfast event in which he laid out deployment plans.
Brooks said rotating strategic weaponry onto the Korean Peninsula would have a deterrent effect against North Korean provocations, according to the news agency. He said the battery would be bigger than one deployed in Guam.
The official could not confirm Brook’s comment on rotation, but said the US and South Korean governments are currently in discussions for such strategic weaponry deployment.
In September, two US B-1 bombers flew over South Korea in a show of force and solidarity with its ally following North Korea’s fifth nuclear test.
Decision angers China
Washington and Seoul have agreed to deploy the THAAD system in South Korea in a bid they say to protect against North Korean threats.
China was angered by the decision as it worries the system can see into its territory.
China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying yesterday urged South Korea and the US to “immediately cease” the deployment process and reiterated that China would take “necessary steps to safeguard China’s security interests.”
“The US deployment of THAAD on the Korean Peninsula seriously damages strategic balance in the region and seriously harms the strategic security interests of relevant regional countries, including China,” Hua told a regular news briefing.
South Korea has said it plans to have THAAD operational by the end of next year at the latest.
Tensions on the Korea Peninsula have been high this year, with North Korea conducting two nuclear tests and an unprecedented number of ballistic missile tests.
Some in South Korea have called for the development of homegrown nuclear weapons.
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