Seoul not seeking change in THAAD agreement: official

South Korea is not seeking to alter its agreement with the US on the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile here, said a senior security adviser to President Moon Jae-in on Friday, apparently seeking to soothe growing concerns both in Seoul and Washington over the project’s delay.

“THAAD was decided as a means to protect the South Korean military and the US troops here amid increasing provocations from the North,” Chung Eui-yong, chief of Cheong Wa Dae’s National Security Office told reporters.
 

“We shall not neglect this decision just because there was a change of government and will continue to communicate closely with the US.”

The reassurance came two days after Cheong Wa Dae put the deployment of additional THAAD batteries on hold -- two batteries are currently deployed and declared to be operational -- demanding a “proper” environment study on the project site. A comprehensive environmental impact assessment, ordered by the Moon administration, can take up to one year.

The delay, coming right after a probe into the Defense Ministry over the omission of key information about the project, stoked questions over whether the new liberal Moon administration is trying to distance itself from the THAAD agreement.

Chung underlined that, despite the setbacks, the government has no intention to make fundamental changes to what has been promised on grounds of the Korea-US alliance.

In the run-up to the May 9 presidential election, Moon had expressed disapproval of the THAAD plan, blaming the rushed decision-making process under his predecessor Park Geun-hye. His claim was that the deployment should first be ratified by the legislature before taking further progress.

“Our intention is to go through the required formalities, while confirming the democratic and procedural legitimacy (of the THAAD deployment),” Chung said.

“The top priority factor at all times will be the interest and security of our nation.”

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)