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S Korea may accept THAAD deployment despite China's objections｜Politics｜News｜WantChinaTimes.com
The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile system (Photo/Lockheed Martin)
Despite opposition from China, an official from the South Korean defense ministry has told overseas Chinese news outlet Duowei that there is no reason for Seoul to reject the deployment of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system to the Republic of Korea.
The weapons system is being deployed to defend US forces stationed in South Korea, but the official said that it does not mean that Seoul will become a member of the US theater missile defense program in East Asia. The official said, however, that coordination between the US and South Korean air defense systems will be able to defend the nation from a potential North Korean missile attack.
During the visit of Chinese president Xi Jinping to Seoul in July, he urged his South Korean counterpart Park Geun-hye to reconsider joining the theater missile defense program. Xi also urged Park to distance her administration from the United States. Sources from the South Korean military told the media outlet, run by overseas Chinese, that the US military had already dispatched its representatives to inspect the locations where the THAAD missile system may be deployed.
With the ability to detect and intercept ballistic missiles launched from more than 1,000 km away, the THAAD missile system has a range far exceeding North Korean territory. For this reason, China's state-run Global Times concluded that the system may be used against the People's Liberation Army's ballistic missiles in any potential conflict between Beijing and Tokyo over the East China Sea.
The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile system (Photo/Lockheed Martin)
Despite opposition from China, an official from the South Korean defense ministry has told overseas Chinese news outlet Duowei that there is no reason for Seoul to reject the deployment of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system to the Republic of Korea.
The weapons system is being deployed to defend US forces stationed in South Korea, but the official said that it does not mean that Seoul will become a member of the US theater missile defense program in East Asia. The official said, however, that coordination between the US and South Korean air defense systems will be able to defend the nation from a potential North Korean missile attack.
During the visit of Chinese president Xi Jinping to Seoul in July, he urged his South Korean counterpart Park Geun-hye to reconsider joining the theater missile defense program. Xi also urged Park to distance her administration from the United States. Sources from the South Korean military told the media outlet, run by overseas Chinese, that the US military had already dispatched its representatives to inspect the locations where the THAAD missile system may be deployed.
With the ability to detect and intercept ballistic missiles launched from more than 1,000 km away, the THAAD missile system has a range far exceeding North Korean territory. For this reason, China's state-run Global Times concluded that the system may be used against the People's Liberation Army's ballistic missiles in any potential conflict between Beijing and Tokyo over the East China Sea.
