Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Tuesday reiterated the government's position that the recent decision by Seoul and Washington to deploy an advanced antimissile system here does not require parliamentary approval.
Some opposition lawmakers have argued that the allies' decision to station a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery in South Korea requires ratification by the National Assembly, while others have called for a referendum on the issue.
Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn attends a parliamentary budget committee session at the National Assembly on July 12, 2016. (Yonhap)
"According to a review by related ministries, the issue of deploying THAAD does not need parliamentary consent," the prime minister said during a parliamentary budget committee session.
Asked whether the government would stop the deployment of THAAD here should North Korea opt for denuclearization, Hwang said, "That is an issue to think about after the North's denuclearization."
"As the North is continuously advancing its nuclear program, what is more crucial at this point in time is to respond to the North's nuclear provocations," he added.
After some five months of consultations, Seoul and Washington announced last week that they had decided to install a THAAD battery here. They are expected to announce the site for the battery later this month.
THAAD, a core part of America's multilayered missile defense program, is designed to intercept incoming ballistic missiles at altitudes of 40 to 150 kilometers during the terminal phase of flight after detecting the missiles with a land-based radar system.
A THAAD battery consists of six truck-mounted launchers, 48 interceptors (eight per launcher), a fire control and communications unit, and a powerful AN/TPY-2 radar. (Yonhap)