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| South Korean President Moon Jae-in |
WASHINGTON, June 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Thursday explained a delay in the deployment of the THAAD U.S. missile defense system to his country, prompting U.S. congressional leaders to nod in what his spokesman called an "apparent understanding."
In a meeting with leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives, the South Korean president reiterated the temporary suspension of the THAAD deployment did not mean a change in his country's decision to host the U.S. missile shield.
"THAAD deployment was an agreement based on the Korea-U.S. alliance to protect the lives of South Korean people and U.S. forces in Korea, and I have repeatedly clarified that my government will not treat it lightly simply because the agreement was reached by the former administration," Moon was quoted as saying.
The new South Korean administration suspended the deployment, pending an environmental impact assessment.
"Should any of you hold a doubt, by any chance, that I or my new administration are pushing for the procedure with an aim to withdraw the agreement, I say you may discard such suspicions," Moon said, according to his spokesman, Park Soo-hyun.
Many U.S. representatives present at the meeting nodded, apparently expressing their understanding, Park told a press briefing.
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