South Korea speeds up US missile defence over North's missile test

North Korea's latest intercontinental ballistic missile test has prompted the South to speed up the deployment of a US missile defence system, Seoul's defence minister said Saturday, despite strong protests from China.

This Friday, July 28, 2017, photo distributed by the North Korean government on Saturday, July 29, 2017, shows what was said to be the launch

This Friday, July 28, 2017, photo distributed by the North Korean government on Saturday, July 29, 2017, shows what was said to be the launch Source: AAP

The US military will also roll out "strategic assets" to the South following the North's missile test late Friday, Song Young-Moo said.

Parts of the THAAD defence system were brought into the country under the government of ousted president Park Geun-Hye, but new leader Moon Jae-In suspended deployment of the programme last month, citing the need for a new environmental impact assessment.

"We will soon start consultations on the tentative deployment" of the remaining components of the THAAD battery in response to Pyongyang's most recent test, the defence minister told journalists. 

The THAAD battery is composed of six interceptor missile launchers. Two launchers have been tentatively deployed at a golf course-turned-US military base in Seongju County, some 300 kilometres (187.5 miles) south of Seoul.

The THAAD deployment has infuriated China, which has long argued it will destabilise the region.

"China expresses serious concern about the actions of the Republic of Korea," Beijing's ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement Saturday. 

"China's resolute opposition to the deployment by the USA of the THAAD system in South Korea is consistent and clear. The THAAD system deployment cannot solve South Korea's security concerns, neither can it solve the problems facing the Korean peninsula. 

"It will only make these problems more complicated."



Seoul's defence minister did not provide details on the "strategic assets" the US planned to send to the Korean peninsula and the surrounding area.

The phrase normally refers to high-profile weapons systems, such as stealth bombers and aircraft carriers.

The South's defence ministry also released a video of a newly developed ballistic missile which it said was one of the world's "most accurate and powerful" weapons and capable of striking "any target in the North at any time and any place".





Share
Published 29 July 2017 5:19pm
Updated 29 July 2017 8:53pm
Source: AFP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world