TEMPO.CO, Seoul - The U.S. military started moving parts of the controversial THAAD anti-missile defense system to a deployment site in South Korea on Wednesday, April 26, amid high tensions over North Korea's missile and nuclear programs.
Washington and Pyongyang have been ratcheting up pressure on each other in recent weeks, with the United States sending an aircraft carrier group and a nuclear submarine to the region and North Korea attempting more missile launches in defiance of layers of U.N. sanctions.
North Korea said on Wednesday leader Kim Jong Un had supervised the country's "largest-ever" live-fire drill to mark the 85th founding anniversary of its military, with more than 300 large-calibre, self-propelled artillery guns demonstrating their firepower at an event on its east coast.
The firing drill came instead of a nuclear test or the launch of a long-range missile as feared amid pressure from the United States and China, its sole major ally which has been irritated by Pyongyang's weapons development.
The United States and South Korea agreed to deploy THAAD in response to the threat of missile launches by North Korea. However, the move has angered China, which says the advanced system will do little to deter the North while destabilizing the regional security balance.
South Korea's defense ministry said some elements of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system were moved to the site on what had been a golf course in the county of Seongju in the country's southern region.
"South Korea and the United States have been working to secure an early operational capability of the THAAD system in response to North Korea's advancing nuclear and missile threat," the ministry said in a statement.
The U.S. and South Korean militaries have been reluctant to publicly discuss the progress of the deployment as candidates in a May 9 presidential election debated whether the move should go ahead or be delayed until after the vote.
Television footage showed military trailers carrying large units including what appeared to be launch canisters being driven into the planned THAAD battery site, about 250 kilometers (155 miles) south of Seoul. Images showed local protesters hurling water bottles at the vehicles and police trying to block them.
A U.S. submarine designed to carry 150 Tomahawk cruise missiles entered a South Korean port on Tuesday as the USS Carl Vinson carrier group steamed towards the Korean waters in an effort to deter the North from a sixth nuclear test and more missile launches.
South Korea's navy has said it plans to hold a joint drill with the U.S. strike group late this month.
REUTERS
