The Korea Times:
Defense Minister Han Min-koo Monday cited the need for the nation to review a U.S. plan to deploy an advanced missile defense system on the Korean Peninsula to better deter North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile threats.
“We should deal with the issue of the terminal high-altitude area defense (THAAD) system from the perspective of national security and defense,” he said during a news program. “Militarily speaking, it is necessary to review the deployment as we have limited capabilities.”
The comments come at a time when debate over whether to deploy THAAD on Korean soil has been reigniting both in Seoul and Washington in the wake of the North’s alleged hydrogen bomb test on Jan. 6.
Han’s remarks followed President Park Geun-hye’s nationally televised address on Jan. 13, where she underlined the need to review the issue of deploying THAAD here based on security and national interests given the North’s nuclear and missile threats,.
The possible deployment of THAAD has been a bone of contention among regional powers, especially between the United States and China.
The statements by Park and Han apparently showed a subtle change in the position of the government, given that Seoul had been reluctant to openly approve of THAAD deployment due to the objections of China, the South’s biggest trading partner.
The U.S. government has been hoping to deploy THAAD batteries here, with the Kim Jong-un regime modernizing its ballistic missile and nuclear programs. In 2014, the U.S. conducted a site inspection for the missile interceptor system.
