Pres. Park Geun Hye Defends THAAD Decision Prior to her Trip to Russia

South Korean President Park Geun-Hye once again emphasized that her government's decision to install a U.S. antimissile system in the country was "an inevitable defensive measure," adding that there would be no need for the system if there were no nuclear threats from North Korea.

The Korea JoongAng Daily wrote that the leader stated this in a written interview with Russia's news agency Rossiya Segodnya on Friday morning. In the interview, Park said, "The essence of the issue (over the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System) comes down to nuclear and missile threats from North Korea. We would have no need for the THAAD system should there be an elimination of nuclear threats from North Korea."

The interview was published the same day that the president had to go on an eight-day trip to Russia, China, and Laos for a forum and summit and have bilateral meetings with the head of Russia, China, and the United States.

Park responded to rumors speculating that the deployment of the THAAD system would be used by the United States to spy on Russia and China saying that there would be no reason to use the missile defense system to target a country aside from North Korea.

She added, "Neither would there be a reason to mobilize THAAD to target a third country nor would any positive outcome come out of doing so. We have no intention whatsoever to use THAAD for such purpose."

Park defended her decision to install an antimissile system, which is slated to be deployed in South Korea by the end of next year after China warned of economic retribution against South Korea for its decision.

She also reiterated that North Korea's threats endanger the security and peace of her country and also encouraged Russia to join international efforts to curb its nuclear ambition.

The President ended, "As a member of the UN Security Council and a strong advocate for the nuclear non-proliferation regime, Russia is in a special position to lead international sanctions to pressure North Korea (into giving up its nuclear program)."