The first pieces of a US-built missile defense system designed to mitigate the threat of North Korean missiles arrived at the Osan Air Base in South Korea Monday night, according to the US military.
The announcement comes just a day after North Korea test-fired four ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea.
China has voiced opposition to the proposed placement of the military hardware known as the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system , which it sees as a threat to its own security.
« We will firmly take necessary measures to preserve our own security interest, and the US and South Korea must bear the potential consequences, » Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Geng Shuang said Tuesday.
With North Korea upping the amount of missile and nuclear tests last year, the US and South Korea have publicly stressed the need to speed up the deployment of the technology.
It’s designed to shoot down incoming missiles that threaten civilian populations, akin to shooting a bullet with another bullet in simple terms, experts say.
« Continued provocative actions by North Korea, to include yesterday’s launch of multiple missiles, only confirm the prudence of our alliance decision last year to deploy THAAD to South Korea, » Adm. Harry Harris, commander, US Pacific Command, said in a news release.
The decision to deploy THAAD in South Korea was made in July of last year, and US President Donald Trump’s administration has said it’s committed to following through.
US Secretary of Defense James Mattis and South Korean Defense Secretary Han Min-koo spoke over the phone last week and agreed that THAAD should be deployed « ASAP. »
Opposition
China has long opposed the deployment of the defense system so close to its own borders and has called on the US and South Korea to stop the deployment.
One concern is that THAAD’s advanced radar system could be used to spy on China’s activities, rather than monitor incoming missiles from North Korea, according to Mark Tokola of the Korean Economic Institute of America.
