DefenseWorld.net:
Seoul is raising the possibility of sending back the recently installed US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery due to the lack of parliamentary approval of this crucial national security decision.
The leader of ruling Democratic Party, Woo Won-shik, was quoted as saying by Yonhap during a radio interview that the deployment of THAAD to South Korea has not properly undergone domestic legal procedures.
“We have to look into issues including the possibility of sending back THAAD, if it has not properly undergone domestic legal procedures,” Woo said.
The statement comes after the US President Donald Trump informed in late April that “it would be appropriate if Seoul paid” for the deployment of a US THAAD system on South Korean soil.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in has been repeatedly criticizing the previous government for agreeing to host the THAAD system without seeking parliamentary approval.
The country leaders have argued that under a bilateral agreement, Washington is financially responsible for the deployment, operation and maintenance of the THAAD battery with Seoul providing the land to host it.
