Three Alternative THAAD Sites Named

According to some officials, the Ministry of National Defense has chosen three alternative options for potential deployment site of a U.S. anti-missile defense system and started reviewing them on Monday.

Such action was done one week after the chief of Seongju County in North Gyeongsang Province had officially asked the Defense Ministry to choose another site within the county for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery. Seongju residents claimed that the initial location that the government eyed, Seongsan-ri, is too near to a residential area.

The Korea Times reported that the three options for the THAAD site include a country club which belongs to Lotte Group in Chojeonmyeon, Mt. Yeomsok in Geumsu-myeon, and Mt. Kkachi in Suryun-myeon.

According to a ministry official, "We have selected three candidates after the consultation with the local government. South Korea and the United States' joint working-level group began a process to evaluate the three places, including on-the-spot inspections."

The most likely site for the THAAD deployment is the Lotte Skyhill Country Club due to the fact that the other options, Mt. Yeonseok and Mt. Kkachi had already been reviewed and evaluated as unsuitable for the ministry's own inspection which was conducted recently.

The three site options will be re-assessed and once the ministry has chosen the most suitable one, it will compare it with Seongsan-ri to pick the final location to host the THAAD battery. According to officials, the six criteria are the operational availability, safety, infrastructure, perimeter security, estimated construction expense and preparatory period.

The official further added, "South Korea and the United States will jointly make a final decision on where to deploy THAAD."

The ministry's decision to consider the request of Seongju residents to find another location for the THAAD battery relieved the tension in Seongju but caused another protest from Gimcheon county residents because the Lotte golf club is near them.

The official also mentioned, "If the golf club is selected as a suitable alternative, we will explain the result of the inspection regarding the safety of the radar to residents."