S.Korea, US decide to deploy THAAD in US Forces Korea

It said the DPRK's nuclear tests and many ballistic missile test-launches, including the recent intermediate-range ballistic missile firing, pose a serious threat to security and stability in South Korea and the entire Asia-Pacific region.

Pyongyang conducted its fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6, followed on Feb. 7 by the launch of a long-range rocket, which was condemned as a disguised test of ballistic missile technology. On the day of the rocket launch, Seoul and Washington announced its decision to review whether to deploy the THAAD on the peninsula.

The DPRK said on June 23 that it had succeeded in test-firing a surface-to-surface strategic ballistic missile Hwaseong-10, called in South Korea as Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile.

The Musudan missile, which is known to be capable of hitting part of the U.S. territory such as Guam and the outer reaches of Alaska, is considered especially threatening as it is fired from a mobile launcher, making it hard to detect and track in times of military conflicts. It can also carry a nuclear warhead.

The statement said Seoul and Washington have continued consultations since February on whether to deploy the THAAD system in the USFK to enhance the missile defense posture of the South Korea-U.S. alliance in response to the DPRK threats.

It said that the two allies decided to deploy the THAAD in the USFK as part of defense measures to defend the military forces of the South Korea-U.S. alliance and protect the safety of South Korea and its people from the DPRK's nuclear threats, weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles.

However, civic group activists in South Korea have said that the deployment of THAAD will be expected to trigger arms race in Northeast Asia and escalate regional tensions.

The joint working-group talks of South Korea and the US over the past several months have reviewed and confirmed the military effectiveness of the THAAD on the Korean peninsula, and the working groups are in a final preparation to propose to defense ministers of the two countries the optimal site for the THAAD deployment in terms of the effectiveness, environment, health and safety, according to the statement.