ROK vice-minister says sorry for THAAD push

Suh vows to communicate and consult with residents

SEOUL - The Republic of Korea's vice-defense minister who was appointed by the new government apologized to residents on Tuesday for the previous administration's push for the deployment of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile interception system in their hometown.

The residents urged the visiting vice-minister to thoroughly investigate any procedural illegitimacy in the installation of the controversial missile system.

Suh Choo-suk and three other Defense Ministry officials held talks with about 40 residents at the village hall of Soseong-ri in Seongju county, North Gyeongsang province, according to a statement from an organization composed of Seongju and Gimcheon city residents and anti-THAAD activists.

During the one-and-a-half-hour meeting, Suh vowed to continuously communicate with residents to reflect their opinions in the process and also promised that they would be consulted over the installation in the future.

Suh apologized to residents for the previous government's unilateral push for the deployment of the US missile shield, according to the statement. The meeting was held behind closed doors.

The residents living near a golf course in southeast ROK, where the part of the THAAD battery was already installed, welcomed the vice-minister's promise, saying they hoped to communicate more closely with the government.

Under the previous Park Geun-hye administration, the ROK and the United States announced a joint decision in July to deploy one THAAD battery, causing strong backlash from activists as well as the residents.

In the past year, the residents and activists have held a protest rally every night to demand the reversal of the deployment decision.

Investigation

About two weeks before the presidential by-election on May 9, caused by Park's impeachment, two mobile launchers were transported in the middle of night to the golf course.

Four more launchers were delivered to a US military base near the golf course, but this was not reported to President Moon Jae-in, who took office on May 10.

Moon has ordered a thorough investigation into the unreported delivery.

One THAAD battery is composed of six mobile launchers, 48 interceptors, the AN/TPY-2 radar and the fire and control unit.

The statement said the residents delivered their clear message to the vice-minister, in which they said the THAAD is not capable of defending against any nuclear missile of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

THAAD is designed to intercept incoming missiles at an altitude of 40-150 kilometers. Most of DPRK missiles targeting the ROK territory fly at an altitude of less than 40 km.

The statement said the THAAD was aimed to protect the US and Japan, not the ROK, while making sure that the THAAD deployment would not become a fundamental way to resolve the DPRK's nuclear issue.

Xinhua