Washington’s advanced missile defense asset is designed to stave off persistent threats from North Korea, though no decision has been made on its possible deployment to the peninsula, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken said Monday.

The U.S. has displayed its desire to install here the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, a key part of its missile defense scheme, to better counter North Korean threats. This poses a pressing dilemma for Seoul due to China’s opposition that the system appears to be targeting it as well, reiterated last week by its defense minister.

“It’s a system that is purely defensive and it is aimed exclusively at dealing with the threat posed by North Korea, and it all happens to be a good system,” Blinken told reporters at the Foreign Ministry headquarters in Seoul.

“But this is all premature because there is no decision on it, and if we are to move forward, there will be a full consultation with the government here.” 

His remarks are apparently aimed at watering down a rekindled controversy following a question-and-answer session on Twitter last week. Asked about Beijing’s resistance toward a potential THAAD deployment in South Korea, he wrote “missile defense on peninsula, including possibly THAAD, directed against DPRK: the greatest source of regional instability,” using North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The post stood out given that Seoul and Washington, wary of backlash at home and from neighbors, had been trying to coordinate their messages that they are not currently in talks on any deployment matters.

Blinken touched down in Seoul on Sunday as the first leg of his weeklong Asia tour that will also take him to Beijing and Tokyo. Succeeding William Burns, the former lawyer took office last month after serving U.S. President Barack Obama as a deputy national security adviser and Vice President Joe Biden since his presidential campaign.

The deputy secretary is the latest in a recent series of high-level U.S. officials to visit, including Wendy Sherman, U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs, and Rose Gottemoeller, U.S. undersecretary of state for arms control and international security.

This marks the allies’ efforts to step up policy coordination as Seoul seeks inter-Korean dialogue in the face of escalating tension between Pyongyang and Washington in the aftermath of the North’s suspected hack on Sony Pictures.

During his three-day stay here, Blinken met with Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yong and reviewed the situation on the peninsula and regional and global issues. Blinken was also scheduled for meetings with academics, university students and alumni of bilateral exchange programs, according to the department.

In the wake of the cyberattack, the top diplomat stressed the significance of sanctions in reining in the communist regime’s nuclear development and bringing it back to the negotiating table with a commitment to denuclearization.

“I think what we’ve seen working together is that the pressure the international community has exerted on North Korea has made a meaningful difference in its ability to acquire materials for its weapons and missile program,” Blinken said.

While Washington remains open to dialogue, North Korea should express its sincerity toward denuclearization, he said, calling for the Kim Jong-un regime’s resolve.

“It has to decide whether it is serious about getting back to denuclearization and have credible and authentic talks,” he added.

“But until North Koreans demonstrate that they are serious, it’s important to sustain pressure on them and to sustain solidarity in the international community.”

By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)