Yonhap:
SEOUL, Aug. 11 (Yonhap) — The United States will carry out an interception test against Musudan-type intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBM) next year with its advanced missile defense system, following successful trials on short and mid-range missiles, Washington’s missile defense chief said Thursday.
“And that (short-range and mid-range) testings have been done over period of years and as that success has been achieved (with missile defense shield), we move on to longer-range tests,” U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) Director Vice Admiral James D. Syring said in a group interview with local reporters at South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff headquarters in Seoul.
The agency chief said next year, the U.S. will test the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system against IRBMs to better counter the growing threats from North Korea in the Indo-Asia Pacific region.
North Korea’s Musudan missiles are IRBM with a range of more than 3,000 kilometers and a capability of striking the U.S. territory of Guam and Japan.
In this photo taken on Aug. 11, 2016, U.S. Missile Defense Agency Director Vic Adm. James D. Syring answers questions from South Korean reporters on the planned deployment of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea by 2017 to counter growing threats from North Korea during a group interview held at South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff headquarters in Seoul. (Yonhap)
Syring came to Seoul on Wednesday night not only to explain the technical and safety aspects of the THAAD system to South Koreans through local media but also to discuss follow-up measures with military officials here for the planned deployment in Seongju, 296 kilometers southeast of Seoul, by the end of 2017.
His visit is seen as part of joint efforts by Seoul and Washington to allay concerns lingering among Seongju residents over possible health risks linked to the system’s powerful X-band radar.
THAAD has been assesssed to pose no adverse impacts to air quality, birds and mammals, soil and water resources. The U.S. will be in close coordination with Gen. Vincent Brooks in charge of the U.S. Forces Korea in preparation for deployment, he said.
“AN/TPY-2 radars (that comes with THAAD) have been deployed. We have population centers close by in several of the radar cases that operate and have been operating for up to a decade safely and without incident,” Syring said.
He said that the United States will conduct the same kind of studies to see what impact the battery will have on the surrounding area, and emphasized that this screening process will be the same as what was carried out in the past when the THAAD system was set up in Guam.
