MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Moon's statement was a response to earlier local media reports citing a diplomatic source with information from a US official, according to which the timing of the THAAD deployment would be discussed during scheduled talks between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in early April, with the possibility of being put off until after the May 9 presidential election in South Korea.
"There is no change in the basic position that South Korea and the U.S. will deploy the THAAD system of the U.S. Forces Korea at an early date within this year as the two sides agreed," Yonhap news agency cited the military representative as saying during a regular press briefing.
In July 2016, Washington and Seoul reached an agreement on placing a US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system on South Korean soil. In early March, the THAAD deployment began in response to North Korea’s ballistic missile tests.
The move provoked sharp criticism by a number of countries, including Russia and China, who believe that the missile defense installment would undermine its security.
