#China #THAAD #USA #SouthKorea #Asia #missile #military
The decision of South Korea’s Lotte Group approval to a land swap with the government isn’t considered to be a good decision by the Chinese state media. This land swap will enable authorities to deploy a US missile defense system.
The government decided last year to deploy the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, in response to the North Korean missile threat, on land that is part of a golf course owned by Lotte in the Seongju region, southeast of Seoul. The deal was approved with the government on Monday.
A South Korean military official told Reuters the military would begin installing fences and soldiers would patrol the area.
China objects to this deployment in South Korea because THAAD has a powerful radar capable of penetrating Chinese territory, and it is a threat to its security and will do nothing to ease tension with North Korea.