South Korea, US agree to deploy THAAD missile defence to counter North’s threat
The anti-missile system will be directed solely at North Korea and not towards any third party nations, according to a joint statement
South Korea and the United States said on Friday they had decided to deploy an advanced missile defence system with the US military stationed in South Korea to counter North Korea’s missile threat.
The Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) anti-missile system will be deployed solely to counter the threat from the North, the South’s Defence Ministry and the US Defence Department said in a joint statement.
South Korea said it aims for a deployment “soon”. The Yonhap news agency said the system was expected to be in operation by the end of 2017 at the latest, citing the South’s defence ministry.
“South Korea and the United States made an alliance decision to deploy THAAD to USFK 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 joint statement said.
