The U.S. has included its advanced missile defense system as part of its extra forces to be supplied to help defend South Korea in contingencies, a news report said Sunday, adding to heated controversy over the asset’s possible deployment on the peninsula.

Last week, the U.S. Forces Korea confirmed for the first time that the military has carried out a site survey for possible stationing of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system.

Though no final decision had been reached on its deployment or location, THAAD would help stave off threats from North Korea, the USFK said.

“THAAD is one of the assets to be provided by the U.S. military in case of an emergency on the Korean Peninsula,” a military source was quoted as saying by Yonhap. “My understanding is that the THAAD system is easy to mobilize as (it is) transferrable by military aircraft.” 


THAAD is designed to shoot down short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles in their terminal stage. The months-long study is believed to have taken place early last year at five sites including Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province; Wonju, Gangwon Province; and Busan.

But Seoul has been reluctant over its stationing as it would spark repercussions at home and abroad by giving signs that the country is joining the U.S.-led global missile defense program, which China and Russia deem is directed at them.

As an alternative, the government has been developing its independent Korea Air and Missile Defense system, a low-tier, multiple-interception scheme aimed at destroying incoming missiles at altitudes of 40-50 kilometers.

South Korea also opposes the deployment of AN/TPY-2, an early missile warning system capable of detecting missiles up to 2,000 kilometers away, which covers China’s military facilities.

“Our military has our own missile warning system, Green Pine, which has a range of 600 kilometers, so we don’t need AN/TPY-2 if we were solely to stay ready for North Korean nuclear and missile threats,” a Seoul official said.

Debate is nonetheless heating up here after some lawmakers of the ruling Saenuri Party relayed calls for an introduction of a THAAD battery in the wake of a recent knife attack on U.S. Ambassador Mark Lippert in Seoul.

As the issue topped the agenda for a high-level three-way meeting on Sunday between the party, the administration and Cheong Wa Dae, senior presidential secretary for policy coordination Hyun Jung-taik took a veiled swipe at the party for chipping hurriedly in with suggestions for a THAAD adoption, saying that the economy and people’s livelihood must take center stage at the talks.

Meanwhile, an intensive diplomatic race is set to unfold in Seoul this week as top Washington and Beijing officials are scheduled to arrive. Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Jianchao and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel will respectively hold consultations with South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Kyung-soo starting Monday and pay a visit to Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yong. Another key sticking point is Seoul’s possible participation in the China-led Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, which the U.S. opposes.

Some 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed throughout South Korea as the two Koreas are technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in armistice, not a peace treaty.

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