By Jun Ji-hye
Defense Minister Han Min-koo said Tuesday that the envisioned deployment of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system by the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) will help enhance security on the Korean Peninsula.
“The defense range of THAAD is very wide. If deployed, it may greatly contribute to defending the peninsula as well as assets of the USFK,” said Han.
Han made the remarks during the National Assembly’s audit of the Ministry of National Defense.
When asked whether the South Korean government would pay for maintenance expenses, the minister said, “No.”
The THAAD system, with a range of 150 kilometers, is regarded as an indispensable element of the U.S. missile defense (MD) system.
Regarding the speculation that Seoul and Washington are drawing up a new operational plan to employ assets of the MD system, Han said, “The two sides are giving shape to measures to better handle the North’s threats.”
He did not elaborate further.
The remarks came hours after Yonhap News Agency quoted a source as saying that the two countries plan to outline the concept and principles of a new operational plan at the annual Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) to be held in late October in Washington.
The new plan under the concept of “comprehensive joint operation” would employ not only missiles and surveillance equipment of USFK and assets of Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD), which are under development, but also key assets of the MD system, according to the report.
The U.S. defense shield includes THAAD, the X-band radar system and the Global Hawk high-altitude, unmanned aerial vehicle.
“After formulating concepts and principles at the SCM, where the defense chiefs from Seoul and Washington are scheduled to talk, the two sides will develop a detailed operational plan sometime next year,” the source was quoted as saying.
The source, however, noted that the possible employment of the U.S. MD system does not mean South Korea will join the Washington-led defense system, apparently wary of controversy over whether Seoul joins the shield.
The issue is taken sensitively here as Washington’s hope of brining its defense system to South Korea is widely seen as an attempt to contain the influence of China and Russia, although it ostensibly targets North Korean ballistic missiles.
China and Russia claim that they are the real targets of any such U.S. system on the Korean Peninsula.
South Korea has rejected the option to join the U.S. missile defense shield, which Japan has joined, and has instead been working to develop its own defense system.
“What the new bilateral plan means is that South Korea would be able to share military intelligence about Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile bases that Washington collects through its MD assets,” the source was quoted as saying.
Kim Min-seok, spokesman of the defense ministry, denied that Seoul and Washington are setting up a new plan, saying “The two sides are developing the concepts and principles of joint operations under the existing operational plans.”
Meanwhile, the Stalinist state has geared up for all-out war by conducting tactical training and boosting its attack capabilities with the goal to achieve reunification of the two Koreas in 2015, according to a report presented to the National Assembly by the defense ministry.
“After declaring 2015 the year of completing unification, North Korea has been preparing for full-scale war,” the report said.
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