U.S. trying to accelerate THAAD talks; China joins sanctions on N. Korea
- 8 years ago
The defense chiefs of Seoul and Washington are scheduled to meet this weekend at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
According to our Connie Kim... there are conflicting reports on whether the defense chiefs of Seoul and Washington will hold discussions on Terminal High Altitude Area Defense... or THAAD deployment in Korea.
The South Korean government says the potential deployment of the U.S. missile defense system will NOT be on the agenda at talks this weekend between the defense chiefs of the two allies.
Seoul's defense ministry was forced to issue a denial after U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said he expected the issue of the THAAD deployment to come up during his meeting Saturday with South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo.
Carter had told reporters that THAAD was not something the two allies needed to discuss much because the plans were already moving forward.
He also emphasized that the deployment was an alliance decision.
Seoul has thus far exercised caution on the matter, not wanting to reveal too much about its discussions with Washington.
"We are not at a point where I can explain the process of the discussions. At this point, we cannot predict when the discussions will be finished."
Shortly after North Korea launched a long-range ballistic missile in early February, the two allies announced they would officially enter negotiations for the deployment of the defense system that can counter the growing missile threats posed by Pyongyang.
A joint working group for the THAAD deployment launched in early March,... and the two countries were expected to discuss possible locations for the system, costs and environmental issues.
"The speculation is that, with China joining the international community to impose sanctions on North Korea, Washington is pushing to accelerate the deployment of the U.S.-missile defense system to South Korea.
Connie Kim, Arirang News."
According to our Connie Kim... there are conflicting reports on whether the defense chiefs of Seoul and Washington will hold discussions on Terminal High Altitude Area Defense... or THAAD deployment in Korea.
The South Korean government says the potential deployment of the U.S. missile defense system will NOT be on the agenda at talks this weekend between the defense chiefs of the two allies.
Seoul's defense ministry was forced to issue a denial after U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said he expected the issue of the THAAD deployment to come up during his meeting Saturday with South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo.
Carter had told reporters that THAAD was not something the two allies needed to discuss much because the plans were already moving forward.
He also emphasized that the deployment was an alliance decision.
Seoul has thus far exercised caution on the matter, not wanting to reveal too much about its discussions with Washington.
"We are not at a point where I can explain the process of the discussions. At this point, we cannot predict when the discussions will be finished."
Shortly after North Korea launched a long-range ballistic missile in early February, the two allies announced they would officially enter negotiations for the deployment of the defense system that can counter the growing missile threats posed by Pyongyang.
A joint working group for the THAAD deployment launched in early March,... and the two countries were expected to discuss possible locations for the system, costs and environmental issues.
"The speculation is that, with China joining the international community to impose sanctions on North Korea, Washington is pushing to accelerate the deployment of the U.S.-missile defense system to South Korea.
Connie Kim, Arirang News."