Protests as SK names site for defense system

The Terminal High Altitude Area Defence system, or THAAD, will be deployed in Seongju county about 200 kilometres (135 miles) southeast of Seoul, as agreed by US Secretary of Defence Ash Carter and his South Korean counterpart Han Min-Koo, according to the defence ministry in Seoul.

SOUTH Korea said yesterday that an advanced USA missile defense system to be deployed in a remote southern county will have the capacity to protect two thirds of the country against attacks from North Korea.

One simulation presumed a situation that North Korea was firing a mid-range Nodong missile with a nuclear warhead toward a United States base in Pyongtaek, 35 kilometers south of Seoul, said professor Jang Young-geun, a military advisor to the defense ministry. It is composed of six mobile launchers, 48 interceptors, radar and fire control system.

Deployment of THAAD has proven deeply controversial in South Korea, stimulating criticism from Seongju citizens who argue its operation will have negative health consequences for those in the vicinity, due to its electromagnetic frequency output.

According to Zhebin, the THAAD systems deployment on South Korean territory has nothing to do with North Korea’s nuclear tests.

The decision to deploy THAAD is the latest move to squeeze the increasingly isolated North Korea, but China worries the system’s radar will be able to track its military capabilities.

Tensions have soared since Pyongyang carried out its fourth nuclear test in January, followed by a series of missile launches that analysts say show the North is making progress toward being able to strike the US mainland.

Seongju is a town of 45,000 people, many of them grow yellow melons for a living.

Kim demanded the defense ministry call off the site decision at a press conference in front of the ministry.

THAAD can shoot down short, medium and intermediate ballistic missiles at incredible speed and altitude, and has been used by the U.S. for years to protect its military units.

Some in South Korea are concerned that outrage against the deployment of THAAD could drive China closer to North Korea and bring back the old Cold War rivalry between the U.S.-Japan-South Korea alliance and the China-Russia-North Korea camp.

Some of the residents, including the county head, rode buses bound for the defence ministry’s headquarters in Seoul to express opposition to the THAAD deployment.

South Korean authorities have scrambled to allay fears over possible trade retaliations from its largest trading partner China.

On Friday, officials said the site would be announced within weeks, but nationwide protests against the THAAD deployment had spread especially in candidate sites, prompting the country to announce it in just five days after the decision.

On Wednesday, thousands of residents of Seongju took to the streets, chanting slogans and burning a mock missile, Yonhap said, citing local reports.

Defense officials have disputed that, saying the system will be located on a mountain, not in a residential area, and is harmless if people stay at least 100 meters (yards) away from it.