Korea premier pelted with eggs, bottles over missile site

South Korea’s ruling party demanded Monday a crackdown on protesters accused of fueling anger in a rural county that was recently chosen as the site for an incoming American missile defense system. Reporters will be given unprecedented access to Andersen Air Force Base where the “Alpha battery” was set up in 2013 to counter Pyongyang’s Musudan missile threats.

South Korean activists have been concerned about harmful radiation emitted from electromagnetic radar waves as well as the system’s noise level.

According to a Korean Times article, the visit is also aimed to alleviate fears about the health risks associated with the system.

On Friday, Seongju residents pelted the South Korean prime minister with eggs during his visit to the town and left him stranded in his vehicle for hours.

Some residents around Seongju County – located almost 300 kilometers (186 miles) south of Seoul – have expressed their concern about living so close to a potential target for a North Korean attack, while other grievances include the potential health problems caused by THAAD’s powerful radar.

North Korea often arranges news conferences for foreign detainees during which they read statements to acknowledge their wrongdoing and praise the North’s political system.

US and South Korean officials have said the THAAD system only targets North Korea, not China or anyone else.

Seongju residents criticised the government for unilaterally deciding on the deployment without consulting them. Defence officials say the U.S. system is harmless if people stay at least 100 metres away from it.

The journalists were shown Task Force Talon, a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery, Yonhap reported.

The pressure to deploy America’s most advanced missile-defense system began after the Hermit Kingdom tested its fourth nuclear bomb on January 6 and then launched a long-range rocket on February 7.

A THAAD battery consists of six truck-mounted launchers, 48 interceptors (eight per launcher), a fire control and communications unit, and an AN/TPY-2 radar.