U.S., S.Korea defense chiefs reaffirm THAAD deployment

Defense chiefs of South Korea and the United States on Tuesday reaffirmed the bilateral agreement to deploy the U.S. missile shield, called Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), in South Korean soil.

Seoul's defense ministry said that South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo held the first telephone talks with his U.S. counterpart James Mattis, who became the first defense secretary under the Trump administration Monday.

During the dialogue, they shared security situations on the Korean Peninsula, agreeing to strengthen their defense capability against nuclear and missile threats from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and develop the bilateral alliance under severe security environment.

The defense chiefs expressed serious concerns about top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un's New Year's Day address that said Pyongyang had entered a final stage in preparations to test-launch the long-range ballistic rocket.

Han and Mattis agreed to push the THAAD installation as scheduled and beef up close cooperation in DPRK policy between defense authorities.

Seoul and Washington abruptly announced the agreement in July last year to deploy one THAAD battery in South Korea's southeastern region by the end of this year.
  [china.org.cn/Xinhua]
31/1/17
-
Related:

• China, Russia agree to further respond to THAAD deployment
• China issues warning to U.S., South Korea on THAAD

--

• La Chine aurait déployé des missiles balistiques près de la Russie, Moscou n’y voit pas une menace