With Lt. Gen. Thomas Vandal, the commander of the Eighth U.S. Army, on left, the Ministry of National Defense's deputy minister for policy Ryu Je-seung announces South Korea and the U.S. agreed to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense in South Korea at the Ministry of National Defense, Friday. / Yonhap



By Kang Seung-woo

South Korea and the United States made an official announcement Friday that they will deploy an advanced U.S. missile defense system here amid evolving nuclear and missile threats from North Korea.

"The two nations have made their final decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense as a defensive measure against North Korea's growing threats of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles," Seoul's defense minister said in a joint statement.

It also said that the two sides are working closely to deploy the missile interceptor as soon as possible.

It is expected that the site for a THAAD battery that will be operated by the U.S. Forces Korea will be unveiled this month and the candidate locations are Pyeongtaek in Gyeonggi Province, Wonju, Gangwon Province, Waegwan in North Gyeongsang Province and Eumseong County in North Chungcheong Province.







Eighth Army Commanding General Lt. Gen. Thomas Vandal shakes hands with the Ministry of National Defense's deputy minister for policy, Ryu Je-seung, after deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system was announced at the Ministry of National Defense, Friday. / Yonhap



Since North Korea launched a long-range rocket in February, the allies have held negotiations on the deployment in order to effectively deal with Pyongyang's evolving missile threats, drawing backlash from China and Russia claiming that THAAD will hurt the stability of Northeast Asia.

Especially, Beijing strongly opposes the deployment, saying that the existence of a THAAD battery in South Korea could be used to nullify its military strike capabilities.

Aware of possible negative responses from the nearby countries, Seoul and Washington said that the THAAD system will be only used against North Korea's missile threats, if deployed on South Korean soil.





Members of civic campaign groups protest in front of the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Friday. The protest targeted the decision by South Korea and the U.S. this morning to deploy an advanced U.S. missile defense system ― the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) ― in South Korea amid evolving nuclear and missile threats from North Korea. / Yonhap



"When the THAAD system is deployed to the Korean Peninsula, it will be focused solely on North Korean nuclear and missile threats and would not be directed towards any third party nations," the joint statement said.

In addition, the government informed China and Russia about the allies' decision on Thursday.