Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

The MND to “cooperate with Seongju-gun and evaluate the 3rd proposed site for THAAD deployment”

On August 22, the MND announced its intent to evaluate the 3rd site proposed by Seongju-gun for Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery deployment.

Seongju-gun requested a review of the 3rd site at a press conference interview held in a main hall of the county office, asking the MND to make a decision on the 3rd suitable site for THAAD other than Seongsan air defense battery.

The MND replied that it would evaluate the 3rd proposed site in the near future with six evaluation standards for availability, working in close cooperation with the relevant local governments. The six evaluation standards are ▲mission operability, ▲safety of local residents, equipment and flights, ▲operation of infrastructure system, ▲boundary security, ▲construction time and cost requirements, and ▲preparation time for deployment. The evaluation for the 3rd site will be conducted by the Korea-U.S. joint working group, and the MND plans to closely cooperate with the relevant local governments during the review process such as selection of candidate sites within Seongju area.

Significantly, an MND official repeatedly highlighted Seongsan air defense battery, which has been already selected, is the most appropriate site, and said the initial decision would be effective until the 3rd site is evaluated and judged to be suitable for THAAD deployment through the evaluation for the 3rd proposed site.

Much attention is being given to the results of the evaluation of private sites which have never been considered, as he also said that Seongsan air defense battery has been selected as the most suitable site among military-owned land, and that for this review of the 3rd site, private land would be included at the request of the local government.

By Chul-Hwan, Kim < droid001@dema.mil.kr >
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