US missiles deployed to South Korea
Comes after launches by North
THE US military began deploying an advanced defensive missile system to South Korea yesterday, a long-awaited move that was agreed upon with the government in Seoul last summer and follows a series of missile launches by North Korea.
The Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system does not use warheads and is designed to shoot down enemy ballistic missiles like ones recently launched by Pyongyang into the Sea of Japan.
The deployment comes after US President Donald Trump on Monday spoke separately over the phone with leaders of Japan and South Korea to discuss the latest test-launch of ballistic missiles by North Korea.
Trump emphasised America’s commitment to stand by Japan and South Korea in the face of the “serious threat” posed by North Korea.
The phone talks followed North Korea’s test-launch on Monday of four ballistic missiles that flew about 1 000km towards its eastern waters.
Among the four, three reportedly fell into Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
The latest missile launch by North Korea came as the US and South Korea were conducting their joint military drill.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said it was opposed to the launch activities of North Korea that were in violation of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
The ministry urged all sides to exercise restraint.
Citing the ongoing training exercise jointly conducted by the US and South Korea, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said under the current circumstances all relevant parties should be restrained and avoid provoking each other and intensifying the tense situation in the region.
US Navy Admiral Harry Harris, the chief of America’s Pacific Command, said: “Continued provocative actions by North Korea, to include yesterday’s launch of multiple missiles, only confirm the prudence of our alliance decision last year to deploy THAAD to South Korea.
“We will resolutely honour our alliance commitments to South Korea and stand ready to defend ourselves, the American homeland, and our allies.”
The deployment was announced as North Korean state media reported that the four missiles Pyongyang launched on Monday were practice for a North Korean attack on US military bases in Japan.
Three of the missiles travelled about 965km over North Korea and the Sea of Japan before landing inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The fourth landed just outside the EEZ.
North Korea is also believed to have thousands of artillery cannons aimed at its southern neighbour, a particular concern for Seoul because the city of 10 million is within range, 56km from North Korea’s border.
Each THAAD battery includes at least six truck-mounted launchers that carry up to eight missiles each.
US military officials stress that it provides strictly defensive capabilities, but it also possesses powerful radar that Chinese officials are concerned will be used to observe Chinese airspace.
The US and South Korea began discussing the deployment of THAAD more than a year ago and reached an agreement to do so in July.
Former president Barack Obama reaffirmed US commitment to the deployment in October, saying Washington and Seoul had worked together to prepare for any threat.
He cited THAAD as an example, while calling it “a purely defensive system to deter and defend against North Korean threats”.
South Korea and the US last Wednesday started their joint springtime war game which would mobilise the massive US strategic assets, the Yonhap news agency reported.
The Foal Eagle field training exercise is scheduled to last until late April, bringing the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier and US fighter jets and bombers to the Korean Peninsula. North Korea denounced it as a rehearsal for northward invasion.