Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

“THAAD is an effective measure that will deter the North Korean nuclear threat”

On August 29, the Minister of National Defense, Han Min-koo, emphasized that THAAD deployment by U.S. forces in Korea, with its multi-layered missile defense system, would be an effective measure to deter and respond to increasing North Korean nuclear and missile threats.

At the general meeting of the National Defense Committee, Minister Han stated, “The North Korea keeps ignoring repeated warnings from the international community, and continues to provoke us with nuclear experiments and long-range missile firings since the beginning of this year. Following these, North Koreans performed another test firing of Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM).”

The MND expects that North Korea has made significant technical progress related to SLBM threats, and is expected to fully integrate its force in 1-3 years. While reporting pending issues, Ryu Je-seung, the Republic of Korea’s Deputy Minister for National Defense Policy, said, “The threats are directly pointed at us, and they are possibly threatening the continental U.S. as well. If North Korea’s SLBM is deployed for operation, our existing abilities are not enough to react. We should enhance our reaction capabilities while closely evaluating threat progress.”

The MND also introduced various counter-measures; launching a preemptive attack with combined forces such as Kill Chain if we determine that North Korea will provoke us at the mooring stage of the submarine base; responding with antisubmarine operational assets after the North Korean submarine sets out; intercepting SLBM with a combined missile defense system like Korea Air and Missile Defense (KAMD).

The MND also announced that it will deploy one more Ballistic Missile Early Warning System, rapidly carry out the deployment of THAAD with U.S. Forces based in Korea and enhance antisubmarine capabilities with resources such as a self-propulsion mine, Chang Bogo III, an acoustic sensor for underwater surveillance, a maritime patrol aircraft, etc., in order to strengthen our ability to react to North Korea's SLBM threats.

In connection with THAAD deployment, Chief Ryu said, “As Seongju-gun built a consensus among local residents and officially requested an availability review of the 3rd proposed site, the Korea-U.S. joint working group has been performing evaluations. Three sites have been selected for evaluation after holding discussions with relevant local governments.”

The Korean and U.S. MND will make their final decision based on the results of military availability and the suitability of the 3rd proposed sites, which were evaluated by the Korea-U.S. joint working group; the THAAD system will then be deployed and operated as of next year. In the review process of the sites, the joint working group will actively accept experts’ advice, as these individuals are recommended by the MND and local governments; issues related to the environment, electromagnetic waves, civil engineering, and the key interests of local residents will be addressed, and detailed results will be given to the relevant local government and residents following the evaluation.

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

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