The defense ministry strongly denied Friday that Korea could participate in the U.S. missile defense system, saying the American system is "fundamentally different" from the Korean system.
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Wednesday after annual security talks with his Korean counterpart Kim Kwan-jin that Washington is still in consultations with Seoul over its future role in a regional missile defense system.
That raised speculations Seoul could take part in the U.S. missile defense system or MD.
"The MD system that the United States envisions is a multi-layered defense system, which is fundamentally different from the Korean type of missile defense system that is oriented to low-layer defense," a defense ministry official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
"We cannot but build a low-layer defense system under operational situations on the Korean Peninsula. Therefore, building the KAMD (Korean Air and Missile Defense) means never participating in U.S. efforts to build a multi-layer defense system," the official said.
Officials have said it makes no sense for South Korea to participate in the U.S. system because the country cannot rely on the U.S. system when North Korean missiles can reach here in just five to six minutes.
They have, however, stressed the need to cooperate with the U.S. on missile defense as American surveillance and early warning capabilities are critical to monitoring North Korean missile bases and activity. (Yonhap)