AP, Washington
The proposed placement of a U.S. missile defense system in South Korea is “going to happen” despite Chinese opposition, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Friday.
Washington and Seoul began talks last month on deploying the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, system to combat the threat of North Korean missiles, following a recent nuclear test and long-range rocket launch by Pyongyang.
Carter was speaking on U.S. defense policy toward the Asia-Pacific ahead of a trip to India and the Philippines. He was asked if the THAAD deployment was going to happen. “It’s going to happen,” Carter told the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. “No, it’s a necessary thing. It’s between us and the South Koreans. It’s part of protecting our own forces on the Korean Peninsula and protecting South Korea. It has nothing to do with the Chinese.” Both China and Russia oppose the deployment of the THAAD system on South Korean soil. China has expressed concern that it would allow U.S. radar to penetrate in Chinese territory. Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated that concern when he met last week with President Barack Obama on the sidelines of a nuclear security summit in Washington.