US President Donald Trump said he wants South Korea to pay for the deployment of the controversial Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, according to Reuters.
"I informed South Korea it would be appropriate if they paid. It's a billion-dollar system," Trump said in an exclusive interview with Reuters on Thursday. He also said he would “renegotiate or terminate” the US free trade agreement with South Korea, calling it horrible.
However, South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense said on Friday that there was no change in its “basic position” that the US should pay for the installation and operating cost of the THAAD system, as the South Korean government is providing the site and related facilities for the deployment, according to Yonhap News Agency.
The United States military in South Korea had transported equipment for the THAAD anti-missile system to the host site in Seongju on Wednesday. Test operations are expected to be conducted soon as key components have been deployed to the launch site, Korean Broadcasting System reported.
The THAAD is a US Army anti-ballistic missile system which is designed to counter short, medium and intermediate range ballistic missiles. The South Korean military decided to deploy the system to counter what it claimed to be threats from the DPRK. China and Russia have opposed the deployment of the system, saying it would inevitably deteriorate the international security situation in the region.
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