The Korea Times:
The U.S. Defense Department said Tuesday that the planned deployment of a U.S. advanced anti-missile system to South Korea will move forward regardless of President Park Geun-hye’s possible resignation or impeachment over the corruption scandal.
“Our Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) deployment continues,” said Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook at a briefing. “Those remain ongoing, and the alliance continues to move forward with that plan.”
The remark was a response to a question whether Park’s impeachment or resignation would affect the deployment.
While opposition parties are speeding up their efforts to pass a motion to impeach Park, possibly this week, over the high profile political scandal involving Park and her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil, the President said Tuesday that she will leave the decision on the timing and method of her resignation up to the National Assembly.
In July, Seoul and Washington announced a decision to deploy a THAAD battery here by next year to better deter evolving threats from North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.
