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Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), formerly Theater High Altitude Area Defense, is a United States Army Anti-Ballistic Missile System
Several types of Chinese ballistic missile are capable of penetrating the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System about to be deployed in South Korea, Amanda Macias, defense correspondent for Business Insider, writes in a piece published on Oct. 18.
During Xi Jinping's visit to the United States last month, the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system to South Korea was the only point of opposition he had with President Barack Obama, Seoul's Yonhap news agency reported. Macias described the American THAAD as a system that can shield South Korea from a potential missile attack launched by either North Korea or China.
The South Korean president, Park Geun-hye, discussed the North Korean and Chinese missile threat with President Obama during her visit to the White House on Oct. 16. General Curtis Scaparrotti, the commander of United States Forces Korea, told Yonhap that he had personally recommended the deployment of the THAAD system.
However, Macias also pointed out that the THAAD is developed particularly to intercept short-range and medium-range ballistic missiles during the terminal stage of their flight path. This would make it no problem for the system to intercept any ballistic missile fired from North Korea. However, certain ballistic missiles including medium-range missiles like China's DF-26 could potentially get through, Macias wrote.
THAAD system could be vulnerable to Chinese missiles: report|WCT