North Korea’s state media on Thursday denounced South Korea and the United States for the possible deployment of an advanced missile defense system on the peninsula.
The U.S. move to put the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense in South Korea is aimed at intensifying Washington’s influence in the Asia-Pacific region, the Korean Central News Agency said in a commentary.
It claimed the U.S. is preparing for missile attacks if needed by deploying various types of missile defense equipment close to North Korea as well as China and Russia.
“As part of the strategy, the U.S. is deploying the THAAD, the core element of its missile defense system, to South Korea,” the KCNA said.
The Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the Workers’ Party, criticized the South Korean government for further escalating tensions.
“The South’s government is showing its move to get the THAAD deployed on its soil. It is pushing the Korean Peninsula, where tensions are already running high, into the phase of sharper confrontation,” said the newspaper.
The U.S. admitted that it is considering the deployment of a THAAD battery to its military base in South Korea in order to beef up regional missile defense capabilities amid growing threats from the nuclear-armed North.
The South’s government, however, said it has not received any formal request from the U.S. for consultations on the matter. (Yonhap)
