US troops complete missile shield deployment to intercept N. Korean ICBMs

By Lim Chang-won Posted : September 7, 2017, 09:32 Updated : September 7, 2017, 18:02

[Yonhap Photo]


US troops brought four more launchers of missile interceptors and related equipment into a heavily guarded base in an operation backed by thousands of South Korean riot police who cleared roads occupied by protesters.

The operation was completed at around 8:30 am (2330 GMT) when US military trucks with their cargo shielded in black rolled through human barricades set up by riot police who used their bodies and plastic shields to push away protesters.

TV footages showed angry protesters hurling plastic water bottles and other objectives from behind police barricades at a strategic point outside a townhall near the base used for a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in Seongju some 200 kilometers (124 miles) southeast of Seoul.
 

[Yonhap Photo]


The operation began at midnight when thousands of riot police marched into Seongju, triggering clashes with hundreds of civic group activists and villagers who used dozens of cars and farm machines to seal off the roads leading to the missile base.

Clashes lasted for nearly eight hours. Angry protesters were seen hurling kicks and punches as police dragged them away one by one and cleared the roads with tow trucks. Dozens of people were carried away by ambulances, but no serious injuries were reported.

The deployment of a full THAAD battery was endorsed by South Korean President Moon Jae-in at talks with US President Donald Trump that followed North Korea's surprise nuclear test on Sunday.

Two THAAD launchers were installed on April 26 at the base on a golf course provided by South Korea's defense ministry, but four had been kept at a US military camp in Osan since Moon ordered a full assessment of the missile shield's environmental impact.
 

[Yonhap Photo]


Residents in Seongju argued their town would be the target of North Korean missile attacks. The missile shield has strained ties between Seoul and Beijing. China insisted the THAAD system would "seriously" hurt strategic interests of China and other countries as well as the security balance in Northeast Asia.

Moon has launched a flurry of diplomacy to secure concessions from China, trying to use the THAAD battery as a "diplomatic card" in negotiations with Beijing and Washington, but the mood changed dramatically due to North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile launches and nuclear test. 

The THAAD battery has been a sensitive diplomatic issue among China and other nations around the Korean peninsula. Local residents have opposed it for emitting strong electromagnetic waves. The missile shield consists of launchers, interceptors, a fire control and communications unit, and a powerful X-band radar.

 
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