MILITARY/NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA: “The United States military plans to complete the deployment of an advanced missile-defense system in South Korea on Thursday [9-7-17], days after North Korea detonated what it called a missile-delivered hydrogen bomb in an underground nuclear test, the South Korean Defense Ministry said.
Despite angry protests from China, Seoul and Washington have agreed to push ahead with the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or Thaad, which they said was designed to protect South Korean and American troops from possible missile attacks from North Korea.
China has vehemently opposed the Thaad deployment, arguing that it would exacerbate tensions with North Korea and could undermine China’s own nuclear deterrent by giving the United States another means to monitor its missiles. Angry Chinese have boycotted South Korean cars and cultural offerings, like TV dramas.
Villagers in Seongju, South Korea, where a Thaad battery was to be installed, also opposed the deployment, fearing that the powerful radar would hurt their health, a concern the Defense Ministry said was scientifically groundless. Joining forces with the farmers were political activists who argued that the Thaad deployment would only increase military tensions on the Korean Peninsula.”
-Choe Sang-Hun, “U.S. and South Korea Near Completion of Missile-Defense System,” The New York Times online, Sept. 6, 2017