Russian Federation to develop mutually beneficial cooperation with S. Korea: Putin

Park’s defense of the Thaad system, which will be deployed by the end of next year, came after Beijing warned of economic retaliations against Seoul for its decision.

Park’s statement suggested Seoul is willing to be flexible on THAAD within specific boundaries, and aimed to reassure the Russian public the missile defense system is not being placed to monitor other countries, according to South Korean newspaper Maeil Business.

Speaking to Sputnik, South Korean President Park Geun-hye stressed once again that Seoul is ready to offer any clarification on the THAAD deployment, stressing that the system is not aimed at Russian Federation.

“So far, the Korean Government has faithfully explained our basic position to the Russian Government”.

For her part, Park said it is necessary to strengthen the relationship of trust between the two countries for cooperation development.

Mr Putin, at the same forum, said that the global community needed to avoid any actions that would further heighten tensions with North Korea.

“The essence of the problem in this matter is the North’s nuclear and missile threats”.

In July, South Korea and the United States announced that they had agreed to deploy the system in the Seongju County amid increased tensions on the peninsula over North Korea’s nuclear and missile program.

Chinese and Russian objections to THAAD in South Korea came as the U.S. missile shield’s X-band radar can break strategic balance in the region and damage security interests of the two countries.

“We consider the decision made by the United States and the Republic of Korea to deploy the USA missile defense system in Suoth Korea an additional aggravating factor”. As we have reiterated many times, THAAD targets no country but North Korea and does not violate the security interests of a third country.