South Korea has begun talks with the US to resume the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, reversing President Moon Jae-in's previous decision to suspend the deployment until the result of an environmental assessment comes out. 

The talks come days after the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) conducted its second test-launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in less than a month. 

"Such discussion is currently going on, but further consultations are needed for the specific issues of when and how," Moon Sang-gyun, spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, said in a press briefing on Monday.

"Full-swing discussions with the US will also start soon for the deployment of additional launchers," Moon said, adding the discussion will be followed by the process of actual deployment.

However, an official from Seoul's presidential office said that the early deployment of THAAD will not mean an escape from the environment test, which will continue regardless of the installation.

And Defense Minister Song Young-moo even told lawmakers that the "temporary THAAD deployment" could also be reconsidered if people feel anxious about it.

To counteract DPRK's growing missile tests and technology, South Korea has requested to negotiate with the US to allow Seoul to build up more powerful ballistic missiles, and the US has agreed. 

South Korea hopes to build missiles that would deliver more powerful payloads to DPRK targets, but under the treaty with the US, dating back to the 1970s, it can build missiles that can go up to 497 miles but can only top them with warheads weighing less than half a ton. However, South Korea wants to double that limit, allowing warheads to weigh up to a ton.

The new missiles that Seoul wants to build can not only strike deep into the DPRK, but also China.

According to Yonhap News Agency, President Moon will hold telephone discussions with his US counterpart Donald Trump over ways to deal with the threat from the DPRK, though the exact date has not been decided.

The two sides are also pushing for the first meeting between Defense Minister Song and his US counterpart Jim Mattis before the alllies' annual Security Consultive Meeting slated for October, according to Seoul's defense ministry.

The envisioned meeting is likely to focus on curbing DPRK's nuclear and missile threats and issues between the two allies, including a revision of a ballistic missile guideline and a US missile defense system, said the ministry.

Washington and Seoul have a quite similar stance on the DPRK and last July the two agreed to deploy the THAAD system in South Korea's Seongju county, which was once a Buddhist pilgrimage site but now became a center for anti-THAAD protest.

On Monday, about 40 protesters held a rally in Seoul to protest the additional deployment of the missile shield system. Farmers are worried that the system's advanced radar will damage local melon crops and make the small town an attack target. And some claim the system cannot actually protect the South Korean people from DPRK's missiles and that the government's true intention is to detect DPRK's missiles upon US request.