US defense chief to visit S. Korea next week
Attention drawn to THAAD deploymentBy Jun Ji-hyeU.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter plans to visit South Korea next week to meet with his counterpart Han Min-koo. He is also scheduled to pay a courtesy call on President Park Geun-hye.The upcoming visit is drawing attention because it could entail discussions regarding potential deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea.“Carter is expected to arrive here on April 9 and leave on April 11,” said Kim Min-seok, spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, at a regular briefing, Tuesday. “It is a tentative plan yet.”Kim said that Carter, who was appointed last month, is seeking to exchange greetings with his South Korean counterpart.Though Kim noted that THAAD is not on the meeting’s agenda, speculation is circulating over the possibility of dialog about the issue.Carter has been advocating the U.S.-led missile defense (MD) system. He pledged during his confirmation hearing in February to significantly beef up the MD system, including deploying more ground-based m
