Seoul says N. Korea test-fires submarine-launched missile

The U.S. and South Korea have agreed to deploy a missile defense system capable of intercepting missiles from North Korea following continued weapons testing by Pyongyang in defiance of United Nations resolutions.

Cai Jian, a professor at the Centre for Korean Studies at Fudan University, said China may strengthen its cooperation with North Korea to tackle the USA influence in the peninsula.

Some South Korean opposition lawmakers have also questioned the efficacy of such a system considering the proximity of the North.

The THAAD will be delivered to the 28,500 troops the United States have in South Korea, as a legacy of the 1950-1953 Korean war.

The THAAD deployment is expected to contribute to a layered missile defence that will enhance the alliance’s existing missile defence capabilities against North Korean missile threats.

The decision to deploy Thaad is the latest move to squeeze the increasingly isolated North, following a series of bilateral sanctions by Seoul and Washington as well as layers of United Nations sanctions.

“The allies aim to be able to start actually operating THAAD in South Korea at least by the end of 2017, but we will make efforts to complete deployment before the target period”, Yoo was quoted as saying.

“Ambassador Bacchus did have a meeting with his Chinese counterparts about this”, Kirby stated.

THAAD has been deployed around the US mainland since 2008.

Russia’s foreign ministry also criticised the decision, saying it sees risky consequences from the deployment.

A Thaad battery is comprised of one AN/TPY-2 phased array radar, six mobile launchers, 48 interceptor missiles and a fire control and communications unit, which can cost up to 1.5 trillion won ($1.3 billion).

These actions “most negatively affect global strategic stability”, the statement said, following the announcement by the United States and South Korea that they would deploy the system to thwart potential attacks from North Korea. “It just doesn’t like more American weapons system being brought in so close to it”, he said.

According to Reuters Japanese, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda stated that Tokio supported the Korean deployment because it will increase security in the region.

Japan supports the THAAD deploy, Russian Federation is against it and it, will take actions.

THAAD has been created to intercept ballistic missiles inside or just outside the atmosphere during their final phase of flight.

Meanwhile, Japanese government spokesman Koichi Hagiuda told reporters in Tokyo that the advance in defence co-operation between the US and South Korea would contribute to regional stability.

It urged the USA and South Korea to halt the deployment process and to “refrain from actions that might damage the interests of China’s strategic and security interests”.

It said: “The US imperialist aggression forces and forces of the South Korean puppet marine corps have been busy with joint military exercises aiming at destroying core facilities in the DPRK”.

In February, the North put an earth observation satellite into orbit.

North Korea’s fourth nuclear test in January and the long-range rocket launch the following month provided a strong impetus for the USA and South Korea to move ahead with formal discussions about the potential placement of THAAD in the South.