The US military command in South Korea said an air defense unit had meanwhile been conducting ballistic missile training with the Patriot system at Osan Air Base near Seoul.
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South Korean media have long speculated that the two countries are working on a THAAD deployment in South Korea, but it took the North’s rocket launch, which outsiders see as a test of banned ballistic missile technology, for the allies to formally announce they will begin the missile defense talks.
On Friday, officials revealed the US-South Korean alliance were in talks to introduce a THAAD Missile defence system – one of the most advanced systems of its type in the world – in response to displays of aggression from the North.
The U.S. temporarily deployed an additional Patriot missile battery in South Korea as a part of its response to North Korea’s launch of a satellite last week and a nuclear test earlier, both of which were condemned by the global community.
North and South Korea’s perennially volatile relations seem headed for a new and potentially risky low, with all official lines of communication cut off and a host of tension-raising issues on the near horizon.
Congress is sending President Barack Obama legislation that aims to punish North Korea for pushing ahead with its nuclear weapons program.
North and South Korea have maintained an uneasy truce since the 1950-53 Korean War.
“Given growing nuclear and missile threats posed by North Korea, Seoul must have felt it had to use its last leverage over Pyongyang”, Nam said.
As one might expect, both South Korea and Japan are apoplectic.
The North placed the complex under military control, while the South cut off all power and water supplies.
On arms proliferation, the report said Pyongyang has continued to sell conventional arms and ballistic missiles that provide a source of hard currency for the internationally isolated regime.
More than 120 South Korean companies employed about 54,000 North Koreans at Kaesong, paying each about $150 a month to manufacture products such as clothing, wristwatches, cosmetics products and electronics components. The launch marked the country’s sixth long-range missile test since 1998.
Authorities said that while the principal stood at 2.5 trillion won, the total Seoul should receive rises to 3 trillion won if interest payments are counted.
Overall, North Korea’s demeanor continually displays an image of unpredictability that further entrenches itself in the political, economic, and social hole that hinders any form of progression for the country.
On February 7, North Korea claimed that it had successfully sent an earth observation satellite into orbit on board a “carrier rocket Kwangmyongsong”, stressing that it was “legitimately exercising the right to use space for independent and peaceful purposes” and planning to send more satellites into space.
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North Korea’s main exports to China include coal, minerals, clothing and textile, and foodstuff, while its imports from China include petroleum gas, steel, machinery, cars and electronics products, according to South Korea’s government-funded Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.
