The Republic of Korea and the United States said on July 8 they would deploy an advanced missile defense system in the RoK to counter the threat from nuclear-armed Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, anti-missile system will be used only as protection against the DPRK's growing nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities, RoK's Defence Ministry and the US Defense Department said.
"This is an important ... decision," General Vincent Brooks, commander of US forces in the RoK, said in a statement. "the DPRK's continued development of ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction require the alliance to take this prudent, protective measure to bolster our ... missile defense."
Beijing said on July 8 it lodged complaints with the US and the RoK ambassadors over the THAAD decision. It also criticized the decision to impose sanctions on the leader of its ally the DPRK.
China said the THAAD system would destabilize the regional security balance without achieving anything to end the DPRK's nuclear program. China is the DPRK's main ally but it opposes its pursuit of nuclear weapons and backed tough new United Nations sanctions against Pyongyang in March.
A RoK Defence Ministry official said selection of a site for THAAD could come "within weeks," and the allies were working to have it operational by the end of 2017.
It will be deployed to US Forces Korea "to protect alliance military forces," a joint statement said. The United States maintains 28,500 troops in the RoK, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean war.
Reuters
