Jun Ji-hye, a reporter at the finance desk of The Korea Times, focuses primarily on economic policy and government agencies, mainly covering the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Ministry of Budget and Planning, the National Tax Service and the Korea Customs Service. She previously covered financial authorities, including the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service, and earlier worked on the political, city and business desks, reporting on a wide range of issues.
'Lockheed has provided S. Korea with THAAD information'
By Jun Ji-hye
U.S. aerospace giant Lockheed Martin has given South Korea and the United States information on its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, according to foreign media outlets.
It added to the speculation circulating in Seoul over the possible deployment of the advanced missile interceptor system.
Dan Garcia, Lockheed’s senior manager for international air and missile business development, was quoted by Reuters, Tuesday, as saying the firm has provided information to Seoul and Washington to support a possible sale of its THAAD system.
The remarks were construed by some as meaning that the two countries have actually started discussing the deployment of the system including its expense.
South Korea and the U.S. have maintained that discussions have not taken place about the deployment on the Korean Peninsula.
But the U.S. Forces Korea recently admitted that it had conducted a survey of locations where the interceptor could be deployed. The cited places according to vernacular newspapers included Pyeongtaek in Gyeonggi Province, Wonju in Gangwon Province, Daegu and Busan.
The Ministry of National Defense denied the remarks made by Lockheed, the Pentagon’s No. 1 supplier.
“The government has not received detailed information related to THAAD,” said Col. Na Seng-yong, the ministry’s deputy spokesman.
Na noted that the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) asked the aerospace company in 2013 to offer information about THAAD for its research and development of the L-SAM long-range ground-to-air missiles, but it was not able to receive such information.
“We also confirmed that Lockheed gave a presentation about THAAD to a seminar held in Korea in 2013,” he said. “But that was all. There was nothing special.”
As the debate about the bringing the interceptor to the Korean Peninsula has escalated, all eyes are now on the planned three-day visit of U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter next week.
Attention will be drawn to whether the visit of Carter, a noted advocate for the U.S.-led missile defense (MD) system, will entail discussions on potential deployment of THAAD on South Korean soil.
The ministry earlier denied the possibility of such a discussion.
The THAAD system, which provides a defense against short- to medium-range ballistic missiles, is widely regarded as the core of the U.S. MD system.
Whether to deploy the system or not has been a thorny issue for Seoul as it is forcing the nation to walk a tightrope between its military ally Washington and No. 1 trading partner Beijing.
Washington hopes to bring its advanced missile interceptor into South Korea to better deal with missile threats from North Korea.
China meanwhile has been pressing South Korea to block the U.S. move, alleging that it could be used to nullify China's military strike capabilities.
Russia has also expressed opposition to the deployment.
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