US reaffirms need for THAAD deployment

By Jun Ji-hye

Frank Rose

Senior U.S. officials reaffirmed Thursday that Washington is considering the stationing of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THADD) unit on the Korean Peninsula to protect its troops stationed in South Korea from growing threats from the North.

Frank Rose, U.S. assistant secretary of state for arms control, said that the position of his country regarding the need for THAAD deployment remains “unchanged.” He referred to his previous remarks that the U.S. was considering the permanent deployment of a battery here.

Rose made the latest comments during an Atlantic Council conference on missile defense in Washington.

He added that no decisions have been made, nor have any official discussions been held with Seoul officials.

Last month, Rose made similar remarks at a seminar hosted by the Institute for Corean-American Studies (ICAS) in Washington.

Brian P. McKeon, principal deputy under secretary of defense for policy, who also attended the Atlantic Council conference, echoed Rose’s stance. He said the U.S. needs to have “a conversation” with the South Korean government about the THAAD deployment.

“We don’t have a lot of THAADs in the United States Army. There are a limited number of units. So the secretary and the chairman are constantly looking at that question of where we have a requirement for them,” McKeon said, referring to Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey.

He stressed the deployment has nothing to do with China, as its primary motivation was to protect U.S. deployed forces from the North Korean missile threats.

“The U.S. forces commander is worried about the security of 28,000 military forces based in the Republic of Korea,” he said. “It’s not about China.”

The U.S. Forces Korea commander, Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, first raised the need for the THAAD deployment to the peninsula in June of last year.

The remarks of the high-ranking U.S. officials came after Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se told reporters that Seoul’s defense authorities are reviewing the deployment from a practical approach.

Defense observers say the remarks of the two governments seem to be in line with each other, which would mean that internal talks have reached the final stage before the beginning of official discussions.

Washington has constantly expressed its wish to deploy THAAD, the core of the U.S. ballistic missile defense system, in South Korea to better deter the reclusive North. But it has been a sensitive issue for Seoul as it needs to walk a tightrope between its military ally Washington and No. 1 trading partner Beijing.

China has been pressing Seoul to reject the deployment, saying it could be used to nullify Beijing’s military strike capabilities. Russia has also expressed opposition to the deployment.

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