'Seoul won't oppose US missile inceptors'
By Jun Ji-hye The government would not necessarily object to U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) deploying its latest interception system as part of its missile defense program, a defense official told The Korea Times on Tuesday.“If deployed, the primary purpose of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense battery would be to defend its troops,” said the official. “We think this is not the same thing as Seoul participating in the U.S. missile defense program.”The clarification represents a subtle change from an earlier stance taken by the Ministry of National Defense, when it said it never intended to cooperate with the United States on a defense shield that would ostensibly target North Korean ballistic missiles. China and Russia claim that they are also real targets of any such U.S. system on the Korean Peninsula.“Interoperability between the KAMD (Korea Air and Missile Defense) and the U.S. missile defense system is necessary to better deal with North Korean threats,” the official added.The explanation came a day after repor
