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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| THAAD deployment will help national defense: Seoul |
| 2016-01-30 |
| Deployment of the United States' advanced missile defense system, the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, in South Korea will be helpful in defending the country from North Korean threats, but the country has no plans to announce any decision on the matter in the near future, a defense official said Friday. "Our government will consider every measure to prepare against North Korea's missile threats," the Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said. "If U.S. Forces Korea deploys THAAD, it will help our national security and defense," Kim said. The official government stance signals the U.S. move to deploy the THAAD system inside the USFK is gaining momentum in South Korea. It also marks a step forward from the country's more cautious stance in the past that South Korea will weigh the THAAD issue in accordance with national security interests. Earlier in the day, the U.S.-based Wall Street Journal reported the U.S. could announce next week or so that the two countries are in negotiations over the THAAD system. Behind the scenes, the THAAD is close to a done deal, the report said, quoting an unidentified former U.S. official. "The South Korean government has not been offered negotiations by the U.S. government," as internal discussion is now under way within the U.S. government over the issue, Kim said. On the South Korean side, it is reviewing at a working level how effective the deployment could be from a military perspective, Kim added. The latest comments by the defense official mark one of the burgeoning signs that South Korea is warming up to the idea of the deployment of the THAAD system, a source of intense protest from China which comes within the range of the THAAD if it is brought here. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 THAAD is an area defense (the AD) at the end. What do they mean by China coming within range? Is China afraid that THAAD will take out missiles in the boost phase heading say to Europe or the USA? I say tough nuggies. Stop enabling the norks to build nuclear weapons. Choices have consequences. |
| Posted by: Sven the pelter 2016-01-30 12:11 |