USFK chief says THAAD to be deployed in next 8-10 months

An advanced US missile defense system will be deployed to South Korea in the next eight to 10 months to better counter growing threats from North Korea, the chief of US Forces Korea said Friday.

Gen. Vincent K. Brooks made the remarks in a seminar hosted by the Association of the Republic of Korea Army in Seoul.

In July, South Korea and the US announced a decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system in South Korea to better defend against the North's evolving nuclear and missile threats.  

As for the issue of rotational deployment of strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula, Brooks said "that is under review" and it is a decision to be made by high-ranking policymakers.

But the four-star general made it clear that the idea of bringing nuclear weapons back to the peninsula will "complicate" the situation in the Asia-Pacific region.

This year alone, Pyongyang has conducted two nuclear tests in January and September and launched a series of missiles as part its efforts to achieve the goal of developing a nuclear-tipped long-range ballistic missile that could hit parts of the US mainland. (Yonhap)