The Pentagon claimed it has been upfront in its dealings with South Korea, after the country’s newly-elected president said that a US missile defense system is being partially-deployed in secrecy.
President Moon Jae-in said on Tuesday that he was “very shocked” to hear that four additional launchers were recently added to the Terminal High Altitude Aerial Defense (THAAD) system. He ordered an inquiry to probe the actions of his own Ministry of Defense.
US military officials, however, say they have been nothing but forthright in their dealings with Seoul.
“We continue to work very closely with the Republic of Korea government and we have been very transparent in all of our actions throughout this process,” Pentagon spokesperson Jeff Davis said Tuesday at a briefing for journalists.
According to South Korean presidential staffers, the Ministry of Defense had only confirmed the deployment of two THAAD launchers that were primed before Moon’s election. One THAAD battery contains six launchers that can shoot 48 anti-missile projectiles.
The Korean military denied leaving Moon in the dark, but President Moon’s staffers said they are still waiting for a briefing on the recent additions.
Earlier this month, Moon won the presidential election on a platform that included pushing a more conciliatory tone toward North Korea. Moon’s campaign also called for a legislative review of THAAD.
The Trump administration antagonized some Korean voters about two weeks before the May 9 election, after President Trump said that South Korea should pay $1 billion for the THAAD deployment. He quickly walked back that assertion days later.
The THAAD installation had been approved by Moon’s predecessor, the conservative Park Geun-hye, who was ousted in March after being indicted on corruption charges. The first two THAAD launchers arrived in South Korea that month.
Although the missile defense system is designed to counter any potential attack by North Korea, the Chinese government has protested the deployment of THAAD, claiming it could give the US an intelligence advantage.
On Monday, the North Korean government conducted its latest missile launch test. Pyongyang claimed afterward that the test demonstrated new precision capabilities.
