If Pyongyang launches short-range Scud missiles to attack Seoul or the metropolitan area in Gyeonggi Province, the U.S. Patriot missile defense system has already been deployed to take care of them, so the argument goes.
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South Korea and the United States have said THAAD will only be used in defense against North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities, but China swiftly protested the move saying it would destabilize the regional security balance.
North Korea is threatening physical retribution against the United States in response to an anti-missile system that has been jointly deployed by South Korea and the U.S. Representatives from the reclusive nation said that it would make both countries “suffer from the nightmare of uneasiness and terror”.
“It is the unwavering will of our army to deal a ruthless retaliatory strike and turn (the South) into a sea of fire and a pile of ashes the moment we have an order to carry it out”, the statement carried by the official KCNA news agency said.
South Korean defence ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun warned North Korea not to take “rash and foolish action” or it would face “decisive and strong punishment from our military”.
North Korea, who claim to have nuclear weapons, threatened a “physical response” after USA and South Korean forces announced plans to set-up a missile defence system in the democratic South. North Korea is now keeping captive USA student Otto Warmbier, accused of taking down a communist poster.
Eumseong County Mayor Lee Pil-yong (fourth from the left) and county residents shout slogans at a park, opposing the THAAD missile defense system being deployed to Eumseong, July 11.
Being the North’s former war ally and largest benefactor, China has done little to rein in the state, only calling for “calmness” whenever tension rises on the Korean Peninsula.
Seongju residents are also anxious that the deployment could damage the reputation of their melon crop, which Kim said accounted for 70 per cent of the country’s output.
South Korean authorities have been anxious to allay fears over possible trade retaliations from China, its largest trading partner.
On Saturday, the North test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile off its east coast.
Kirby urged North Korea to adhere to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and grant consular access to any detained US citizens without delay.
The THAAD battery will be operated by the US Forces Korea and the radar operation will not be made transparent.
South Korea has announced the deployment of an advanced anti-missile system in Seongju county in the country’s south.
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However, South Korea’s defense ministry says that most of the ballistic missiles targeting the capital are Scud missiles that fly at an altitude of less than 40 kilometers, and that THAAD is only able to intercept missiles that fly at higher than 40 kilometers.
