The authorities of South Korea have decided to temporarily suspend the deployment in the country of the American complex of missile defense THAAD. Work can only be continued after a full environmental impact assessment. A statement was made by a high-ranking representative of the presidential administration.
"We do not mean that it is necessary to send back already delivered to the country two launchers. However, with the import of the rest of the equipment, we will have to wait, "the official explained..
Thus, the new president, Mr. Mun Zhe Ying, kept his pre-election promise to reconsider his predecessor's decision to deploy American launchers in the republic.
The decision to suspend the deployment of THAAD facilities was taken after the investigation of the actions of the Ministry of National Defense. During the audit, it was revealed that the military had made an illegal attempt to evade a full-fledged environmental impact assessment.
According to the Korean laws, the examination is carried out during the construction of any army facilities with an area of ??more than 33 hectares. To speed up the process and avoid tedious inspections, the Defense Ministry decided to split a larger area allocated for THAAD into smaller units and hand them over to the US military in stages.
Experts say that the examination can last several months, if not years. So, the deployment of a missile defense complex on Guam was preceded by a 23-month check, and in the case of THAAD it may require much longer procedures. Therefore, it is possible that the battery will not be deployed in South Korea this year, as originally planned.
In the presidential environment, they added that the head of state does not consider the deployment of the missile defense complex as a priority task, the solution of which is vitally important for preserving the security of the country. "North Korea has been conducting nuclear tests for a long time, so there is no need to hurry with the installation of missile defense, ignoring local laws," said a spokesman for the administration.
In mid-May, the South Korean parliamentarians announced a possible refusal to host American anti-missiles. The head of the faction of the ruling Democratic Party Tobor U Won Sik said that the government is ready to roll out the THAAD program if violations of internal legal procedures are found.
This happened shortly after US President Donald Trump decided to recalculate the cost of installing THAAD in South Korea at a new tariff. He announced that Seoul will have to pay Washington $ 1 billion. Right after that, South Korean officials and deputies sharply cooled to the overseas missile defense and said that they are not so afraid of Kim Jong-un's missiles to pay for protecting them from such money. At the same time, earlier the official Seoul, contrary to opposition protests, ecologists and local residents, insisted on the speedy deployment of the THAAD system on its territory. According to earlier agreements, South Korea had to provide only land, and Washington - to bring the battery to the ABM and pay for its own operation.
A consistent supporter of US missiles remains the South Korean Ministry of Defense. "The military has not changed anything. The policy in the field of defense has not changed ...
The THAAD complex makes a great contribution to strengthening our defense capability, and therefore, it seems to me that the decision to abandon the US missile defense system will not be taken, "said the head of the military department, Khan Ming Gu.
To date, South Korea has delivered two launchers of the THAAD complex, consisting of a total of six elements. Categorically against the deployment of this system are China and Russia, which believe that the US missile defense system destabilizes the situation in the region and provokes the DPRK to aggression.