THAAD radiation probe canceled: ministry

Published : Jul 21, 2017 - 11:08 Updated : Jul 21, 2017 - 11:08

The South Korean government has dropped a plan to conduct an on-site survey this week on THAAD electromagnetic radiation joined by local residents, an official said Friday.

There have been public concerns here about electromagnetic radiation in areas near the US military base in Seongju, some 300 km southeast of Seoul, where a THAAD missile defense battery is in partial operation to help counter North Korea's ballistic missile threats.

The THAAD system uses AN/TPY-2 radar, also known as X-band radar, that identifies targets by shooting a beam of electromagnetic waves at them.

(Yonhap)

The Ministry of National Defense had planned to measure the level of the radiation at the base.

"We were in consultations with residents there for that but it has been canceled," the ministry's spokesman Moon Sang-gyun told reporters.

He cited opposition from "related civic groups."

If the residents want the survey and their participation, the ministry will support it, he added. (Yonhap)