US moves THAAD anti-missile to South Korean site

International Desk: The U.S. military started moving parts of its controversial THAAD anti-missile defense system to a deployment site in South Korea on Wednesday amid high tensions over North Korea's missile and nuclear programs.

The earlier-than-expected move prompted protests by hundreds of local residents and was denounced by the frontrunner in South Korea's presidential election on May 9.

A spokesman for Moon Jae-in said the decision "ignored public opinion and due process" and demanded the deployment be suspended until the next administration was in place and had made its policy decision.

The United States and South Korea last year agreed to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system to counter the threat of missile launches by North Korea. However the move has angered China, which says the advanced system will do little to deter the North while destabilizing the regional security balance.

South Korea's defense ministry said some elements of THAAD were moved to the site on what had been a golf course in the south of the country.

Source: Agencies


risingbd/Dhaka/April 26, 2017/A K Azad