Pyongyang said the missile system, also opposed by China, was part of a joint plot between Seoul and Washington to mount a « preemptive attack on the North », according to a statement on the official KCNA news agency attributed to the National Peace Committee of Korea.
The statement coincided with a a visit by new US Defense Secretary James Mattis to Seoul, where he pledged to deploy THAAD — the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system — to protect US and South Korean troops.
Mattis promised an « overwhelming » response to any attack mounted by North Korea.
« North Korea continues to launch missiles, develop its nuclear weapons program and engage in threatening rhetoric and behavior, » Mattis said at a press conference in Seoul on Friday.
Speaking alongside South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo, he added: « Any attack on the United States or on our allies will be defeated and any use of nuclear weapons will be met with a response that will be effective and overwhelming. »
The North Korean statement said THAAD was part of an offensive strategy between Seoul and Washington, alleging the two had « worked out a plan for a preemptive attack on the North and… desperately pushed forward it, pushing the situation on the peninsula to the brink of a nuclear war.
