U.S. Military Begins Deployment of THAAD Missile System in South Korea
The U.S. military has begun deploying the THAAD missile system in South Korea.
South Korea’s Yonhapnews agency confirmed the deployment of this anti-missile system on Wednesday morning Korean Peninsula time.
According to Voice of America, the United States and South Korea had previously agreed to deploy this anti-missile system in South Korea in response to North Korean threats. China, in reaction to this agreement, says this move could help destabilize the regional balance.
Tensions between the United States and North Korea have increased, and on Sunday, President Trump ordered a joint military exercise with Japan in the waters of the Korean Peninsula.
Following the joint exercise by Japan and the United States in Korean Peninsula waters, China’s president called on all parties to refrain from escalating tensions.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, in a telephone conversation with President Trump on Monday regarding North Korea, called on the United States, Japan, and North Korea to refrain from escalating tensions.
The likelihood that North Korea, under pressure from the international community and UN sanctions, will conduct another nuclear test or ballistic missile launch has increased.
According to Reuters, North Korea on Monday, April 24, in an angry response to the joint exercise by the United States and Japan in waters near North Korea, said that sending ships for purposes of attack “is a very dangerous action by those who are preparing for a nuclear war.”
North Korea’s ruling party official newspaper also wrote on Monday that “America should carefully review the catastrophic consequences of its provocative military actions.”
In the joint exercise by the United States and Japan that took place on Sunday, a U.S. Navy strike group, escorted by a Japanese destroyer, moved toward the Korean Peninsula.
Donald Trump, president of the United States, in the midst of tensions over North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic tests, had ordered this strike group to be sent to the waters of the Korean Peninsula.
Source: Voice of America
