Defense Minister Han Min-koo on Wednesday attempted to soothe the irate citizens of Seongju-gun -- who live adjacent to the planned location of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system -- by apologizing for a lack of communication and once again justifying the deployment location.

The minister also said that he “will consider” revising the plan to place the US advanced missile defense system in Seongsan-ri, Seongju to put it in another region in the county, presumably at a location more remote from a populated area.

Han urged the residents to come up with a collective suggestion on the alternate spot, as the residents have been split between installing the THAAD in another region and demanding the ministry to scrap the plan altogether.
”The decision to deploy the THAAD is an act of minimal self-defense to protect the safety of our country and our people in light of rising threats from North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missiles,” Han had said prior to the meeting at 2 p.m. The minister added that Seongju was selected because it would maximize the area that THAAD could cover.

”THAAD would not be necessary if the North would give up its nuclear and missile programs,” Han said.

”I reiterate my apology for failing to sufficiently explain to the people of Seongju before announcing the location and also for not actively seeking their understanding,” he said.

It was Han’s second visit to the town in North Gyeongsang Province to meet with locals and explain the installment of the THAAD in Seongju-ri, Seongju.

Since the government announced the location on July 13, local citizens have vehemently opposed the decision, citing health concerns from the THAAD’s AN/TPY-2 radar.

The regional government of Seongju-gun had called the decision “unilateral” and said it lacked any compelling reasons behind the deployment or explanation on how to protect the people’s health.

Vice Minister Hwang In-moo had attempted to visit Seongju on the day of the announcement and meet with the residents, but was turned away by their angry response.

The ministry said during Wednesday‘s visit that Han and the delegation would present data from their simulation on THAAD’s effectiveness, along with the evaluated benefits on having the weapon in Seongju.

Lee Jae-bok, the head of the local residents’ committee against THAAD in Seongju, urged Han to explain it in a way that people can understand.

While the committee has called for the government to scrap the plan, North Gyeongsang Gov. Kim Kwan-yong and some 27 groups in Seongju have requested that the government locate the THAAD in a more remote and less populated area in Seongju-gun.

President Park Geun-hye and the ministry last week mentioned the option of installing the THAAD in other regions in Seongju-gun, rather than the initially planned location of Seongsan-ri.

While the South Korean military has been looking to get approval from the locals, the US has sought to persuade China that having the advanced weapon system will not infringe the country’s interests. 
Beijing has claimed that the US military operating THAAD at a stone’s throw away would infringe upon its strategic interest, a claim that some local experts have accused as “a ruse to damage the Seoul-Washington alliance.”

Mark A. Milley, the US Army chief of staff, told his Chinese counterpart Li Zuocheng on Tuesday that the THAAD was a defensive measure and is “not a threat in any way to China.”

In a joint interview with South Korean press last week, US Missile Defense Agency Director Vice Adm. James D. Syring said that THAAD is specifically against North Korean threats and that the US missile defense system was “never” designed to be against China.

The deployment of THAAD has sparked concerns that South Korea may be included in the US global missile defense program, which both Seoul and Washington officials have denied.

There has also been speculation that the allies may begin discussions over deployment of a standard missile-3 system that could be deployed on South Korea’s second batch of Aegis-equipped destroyers, replacing the current SM-2 missiles.

The Defense Ministry said it currently does not have plans to deploy the SM-3 missiles.

Such deployment is likely to prompt further controversy about the South Korean military becoming part of the US MD system. The missiles are more suitable to intercept intermediate-range missiles, not the short-range Scud missiles the North is more likely to use on South Korea.

By Yoon Min-sik (minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)