South Korea and the US have agreed to deploy an advanced missile defence system with the US military based in South Korea to counter North Korea’s increasing missile threat, despite China’s strong opposition.
Seoul’s defense ministry said on Friday the Terminal High-Altitude Air Defence platform (THAAD) will be deployed “soon” in Korea solely to counter the North Korean threat and would not be directed to any other country.
Seoul and Washington made the decision to deploy THAAD to US forces in Korea “as a defensive measure to ensure the security of the South and its people, and to protect alliance military forces from North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile threats,” the ministry said in a statement.