YonHap News:
South Korea and the United States are likely to deploy an advanced U.S. missile defense system to Seongju county in the south central region of the country, a military source said Tuesday.
As early as next week, Seoul and Washington are likely to announce where they will place the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, said the official source who declined to be identified. The source also said the Seongsan-ri region of the county, about 296 km south of Seoul, will be chosen as the site of the missile system.
The two countries evaluated that the location is optimal, given that the site is suitable for military operations and is sparsely populated, the insider said.
“The allies have reached an understanding that Seongju, which already has the Air Force’s Hawk surface-to-air missile battery, is the best location for the THAAD system,” he said, adding that they are awaiting final approval from their respective national military authorities.
The allies agreed Friday to station the THAAD system on South Korean soil to counter North Korea’s evolving nuclear and missile threats.
As an integral part of the U.S.-led missile-defense system, THAAD is designed to shoot down a ballistic missile at altitudes of 40 to 150 km in its terminal phase of flight using a hit-to-kill method.
