US THAAD Missile Sale to S Korea Not in the Pipeline - Officials

South Korea has not discussed the possibility of purchasing the advanced missile defense system from a US defense firm, officials said Monday.

According to some local news outlets, senior Lockheed Martin officials visited Seoul last week and asked if the government intended to buy its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, Yonhap news agency reported.

An official with South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration said, requesting anonymity, that the two sides had not discussed the THAAD issue, focusing instead on the “upgrade of the KF-16 fighters and US Air Force's project of buying a jet trainer."

Confirming the DAPA official's comments, a defense ministry official said “no suggestions or any requests with regards to THAAD from Lockheed Martin, and no discussions have been made, adding that the government had no plans to buy THAAD.

Washington wants to deploy a THAAD battery in South Korea to better protect its ally and some 28,000 US troops from a perceived threat from North Korea.

The THAAD missile defense system is designed to shoot down short, medium and intermediate ballistic missiles at a higher altitude in their terminal phase using a hit-to-kill method.