Parts of controversial US anti-missile system moved to South Korean site
Parts of a US-built anti-missile system designed to mitigate the threat of North Korean missiles have been moved to the planned deployment site in South Korea as tensions with the nuclear-armed country escalate.
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Parts of a US-built anti-missile system designed to mitigate the threat of North Korean missiles have been moved to the planned deployment site in South Korea as tensions with the nuclear-armed country escalate.
Trucks hauling components of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system rolled into the site in North Gyeongsang province, according to a statement from the South Korean Defense Ministry on Wednesday.
"Both South Korea and the United States have been working to secure the operational capacity of the THAAD system in preparation for North Korea's advanced nuclear-missile threat," the statement said.
"Therefore, this measure was to secure operational capacity by placing some parts of the available THAAD system at the deployment site."
The missile system has angered North Korea and also drawn sharp opposition from China, which sees it as a threat to its own security.
In Seongju county, at the location of the THAAD site, around 4,000 police were present to ensure the equipment's delivery.
Around 400 protesters were present at a demonstration near the site, and police in riot gear held back protesters as the equipment rolled past on military trucks.
Hwang Soo-young, an activist with the government watchdog group, the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD), was at the site of the protest Wednesday morning. She claimed that the protests turned violent as "police were pushing residents away."
She claimed six people were injured during the encounter, although CNN has not been able to independently verify the claim.
She said that vehicles with equipment "including radar, launchers and generators" started passing the village of Soseongri at around 4.45 a.m. (3.45 p.m. Tuesday ET).
Local complaints center around the lack of consultation over the decision to deploy the missile system near their homes. The voices of local people were "never heard, they never asked these people," she said.
The goal is to have the complete system fully operational by the end of this year but the US and South Korea have publicly stressed the need to speed up the deployment of the technology as tensions have mounted with Pyongyang.
On Tuesday, North Korea staged a pounding display of artillery guns, while the US began joint naval drills in the region with South Korea and Japan and the USS Michigan, one of the most powerful submarines in the American arsenal, docked in South Korea.
And later on Wednesday, the White House will hold an unusual briefing on North Korea, with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Defense Secretary James Mattis and other officials outlining the threat for the entire Senate.
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