Assassination, missile test highlight need of THAAD deployment: Bareun lawmaker

Published : Feb 15, 2017 - 09:55 Updated : Feb 15, 2017 - 09:57

Rep. Yoo Seong-min of the Bareun Party said Wednesday the assassination of the North Korean leader's half brother should be a wake-up call about the regime's unpredictable nature.

Yoo, a potential presidential candidate, said South Korea should be ready and resolved to deal with the dangerous enemy, calling for an expanded deployment of an advanced US missile shield in the country.

Rep. Yoo Seong-min of the Bareun Party speaks during a meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul on Feb. 15, 2017. (Yonhap)

"(The assassination) again showed the Kim Jong-un group can conduct unimaginable provocations at any time," Yoo said.

Sources said Kim Jong-nam, the 45-year-old eldest son of late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, was killed after being poisoned in Malaysia on Monday.

The incident came amid heightened tension after North Korea fired a new intermediate-range ballistic missile called the Pukguksong-2 on Sunday from an air base in its northwestern province.

The lawmaker said the latest developments proved Seoul's need to host the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, which the US military is scheduled to deploy in Seongju, a rural southeastern county, this year.

Yoo said South Korea should operate at least two to three THAAD batteries with its own budget.

Opposition parties object to the deployment, raising doubts about its efficiency and citing deteriorating ties with China, which vehemently opposes a US missile shield being placed in a neighboring country. (Yonhap)