Forbes:
One of the most vexing challenges U.S. military planners face in figuring out what to do about the growing nuclear threat posed by North Korea is the vulnerability of South Korea’s capital to non-nuclear retaliation. Seoul is a mere 35 miles from the demilitarized zone separating the two countries, putting it within range of North Korean artillery and short-range rockets. The North has deployed thousands of guns and rocket launchers along the border, in effect holding 25 million South Koreans — half the country’s population — hostage.
The U.S. and its South Korean ally have several defensive options for dealing with longer-range missiles, including the land-based Patriot air and missile defense system, the sea-based Aegis air and missile defense system carried on U.S. warships, and the land-based Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (Thaad). The latter system, built by Lockheed Martin, is especially well-suited to defending urban areas against ballistic missiles, having achieved a perfect testing record of 15 kills in 15 attempts. Highly mobile and quickly reloadable, truck-mounted Thaad batteries began deploying in South Korea earlier this year…
