Construction materials, equipment enter THAAD site amid protests
Police officers break up a sit-in by anti-THAAD protesters in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, Monday. / Yonhap
By Kang Seung-woo
The defense ministry transported construction materials, equipment and personnel into a military base housing a U.S. missile defense system, Monday, amid strong protests.
According to the Ministry of National Defense, 22 vehicles -- 14 dump trucks carrying sand and gravel for construction use and eight vans taking construction workers -- made it onto the base after 3,000 police officers dispersed 200 residents and activists occupying the road leading to the site for three hours.
The ministry said it was an inevitable decision to improve the living conditions of more than 400 Korean and U.S. soldiers stationed there in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province.
“Even though we tried to respect residents' opinions, we reached a point where dialogue cannot narrow the gaps over the deployment,” a ministry official said.
“Inevitably, we have decided to begin transporting materials, equipment and personnel for construction in cooperation with the police.”
Last September, the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) completed deploying the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, including six launchers and an X-band radar, to contain the growing North Korean nuclear and missile threats; but continuing protests had prevented the defense ministry from pushing ahead with further construction since then.
Riot police were dispatched to the southeastern county at 8:12 a.m. and protesters resisted by inserting their arms into plastic pipes in an attempt to make it difficult for the police to carry them away. The police placed air mattresses under a bridge in case of falls during the clash. The action ended at 11:20 a.m.
About 10 people were injured during the move, with five or six of them hospitalized.
“It is the defense ministry that created this situation,” said Kang Hyun-woo, a leader of the protest.
“Responsibility for all forthcoming consequences rests with the defense ministry that pushed unreasonably ahead with the THAAD base construction.”
The protestors are urging the government to scrap the THAAD deployment, citing the current inter-Korean rapprochement.
President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will hold a summit Friday at the border town of Panmunjeom amid expectations the two heads of state are likely to explore ways to turn the armistice that ended the Korean War into an official peace treaty.
In addition, ahead of his upcoming summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, Kim has suspended the North's nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests.