The warnings come a day after North Korea condemned the decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, and call South Korean President Park Geun-hye a “rare traitor” and a “war servant” obsessed with confrontation with the North.
Advertisement
South Korea announced on Wednesday the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence system, or THAAD, will be installed in Seongju County about 200km southeast of Seoul by the end of next year.
Demonstrators responded to the prime minister’s remarks with a chorus of angry jeers and his security team held up brief cases and umbrellas to protect him from the objects being thrown by the angry crowd. But his suit jacket was tainted by eggs and he evacuated to a town hall office. President Park says the location where the US missile defense system THAAD will be stationed – in Seongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province – was selected with the utmost discretion and analysis.
THAAD opponents express concern that exposure to the electromagnetic radiation from the system’s radar could cause serious harm to nearby residents and could contaminate agricultural products.
Supporters of the THAAD deployment mostly claimed that it will add to national security and safety, while the opposition said the missile shield may be effective but it could adversely impact Seoul’s relationship with China and Russian Federation. Several people, including local officials, have started a hunger strike.
“The government will do its best so the residents can live their daily lives without any concern”, said Mr Hwang, who was accompanied by senior government officials including Defence Minister Han Min Koo.
Seoul and Washington last week revealed their decision to deploy Thaad in South Korea in the wake of a series of missile and nuclear tests by North Korea.
The United States has about 28,500 troops in South Korea as deterrence against potential aggression from North Korea. One of those batteries was deployed to Guam in April 2013 in order to deter North Korean provocations and further defend the Pacific region.
He said he was arrested May 27 on an island in the Amnok River which runs along the border between North Korea and China.
Tensions have been high since Pyongyang carried out its fourth nuclear test in January, followed by a series of missile launches that analysts said showed the North was making progress towards being able to strike the USA mainland.
Advertisement
It was a constructive and meaningful meeting, according to South Korea’s number two diplomat Lim Sung-nam, as he met with his USA and Japanese counterparts Antony Blinken and Shinsuke Sugiyama for trilateral talks in Honululu, Hawaii on Thursday local time.
