South Korea’s Lotte Group has agreed to trade the land needed to host a planned missile shield despite China’s recent warning of business consequences should the US-built defence platform proceed.
Lotte’s board made the decision on Monday and plans to sign the contract with Seoul’s defence ministry as early as Tuesday, the ministry said. Lotte will hand over its golf course in the southeastern rural country of Seongju to host the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence system and receive a state-owned military site near Seoul in return.
The decision paves the way for the Thaad deployment between May and July. The defence ministry has moved to expedite the proceedings to meet the schedule amid heightened military threats from North Korea.