U. S. officials are proceeding with the deployment of a missile defense battery in South Korea despite the impeachment and removal of the South Korean president Park Geun-hye. Leaders change over time, that’s not new, Navy. Capt. Jeff Davis, Pentagon…
U. S. officials are proceeding with the deployment of a missile defense battery in South Korea despite the impeachment and removal of the South Korean president Park Geun-hye.
“Leaders change over time, that’s not new,” Navy. Capt. Jeff Davis, Pentagon spokesman, told reporters Friday. “This is something that is needed militarily. That agreement was reached and we remain committed to delivering on it. ”
Park’s removal was finalized by the South Korean Constitutional Court following bribery and corruption charges involving a close aide. China, which has long opposed the deployment of the defense system, wasted no time in urging the post-Park government to reverse course now that she is gone.
“We will not comment on the impeachment case…,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said Friday. “As for her decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense [THAAD] system, China has expressed definite opposition. ”
South Korea’s military has been on high-alert due to a series of North Korean missile tests and launches, as well as the assassination of dictator Kim Jong Un’s half-brother through the use of a chemical weapon.
