MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier in February, Pentagon said that Washington and Seoul planned to begin talks on deploying the THAAD anti-ballistic missile system to South Korea to defend the region against North Korea’s development of ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons.
"[The speculation] is a mere rumor. It is not true," Moon said, as quoted by the Yonhap news agency.
The reports on THAAD purchase by South Korea emerged days after North Korea had launched a Kwangmyongsong-4 satellite atop a long-range rocket, defying a UN Security Council resolution, which bans Pyongyang from launching rockets that could be used as ballistic missiles carrying nuclear warheads.
The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system is capable of destroying enemy missiles either before they leave earth’s atmosphere or shortly after the missiles re-enter the atmosphere. The type of missile fired by North Korea is capable of hitting South Korea and Japan, as well as the US states of Hawaii and Alaska.
China and Russia have expressed opposition to the potential deployment of the THAAD system, arguing it could upset the regional balance and be used against Chinese interests.
