South Koreans Hold Rally against US-built THAAD System Deployment

The protest rally took place as South Korea and the US chose the Seongju which is home to 40,000 people, as the site for the deployment, Hindustan Times reported.

South Korea announced on Wednesday the site where a US THAAD anti-missile defense unit will be deployed against North Korea’s missile and nuclear threats, a plan that has angered China and prompted a North Korean warning of retaliation.

Tension on the Korean peninsula has been high since North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test in January and followed that with a satellite launch and a string of test launches of various missiles.

The South Korean defense ministry said the THAAD system would be deployed in the southeastern county of Seongju to maximize its effectiveness while minimizing any impact on residents and the environment.

“By operating the US THAAD battery in Seongju, we will be able to better protect one half to two-thirds of our citizens from North Korean nuclear and missile threats,” the ministry said in a statement.

“It will dramatically strengthen the military capabilities and readiness to defend critical national infrastructure such as nuclear power plants and oil storage facilities, as well as the military forces of the South Korea-US alliance.”

North Korea’s military on Monday threatened to retaliate against the deployment of the system with a “physical response” once its location and time of installation were decided.