SEOUL, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- South Korean protesters on Monday expressed strong demand for the pullout of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system from their home country ahead of Defense Minister Song Young-moo's visit to Washington this week.
A group of anti-THAAD activists and residents living near the deployment site gathered outside the U.S. embassy in central Seoul, holding a press conference to demand the removal of the U.S. missile shield from the South Korean territory and urge the United States to stop pressuring South Korea for further deployment.
One lawmaker of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party claimed last week that the U.S. side called on South Korea to deploy four more THAAD launchers to the THAAD site by this Thursday.
On April 26, two mobile launchers and other THAAD elements were transported in the middle of night to a former golf course in Seongju county, North Gyeongsang province.
After the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s tests in July of what it called an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), South Korean President Moon Jae-in ordered the temporary installation of the four launchers though his office said the final decision would be made after completing an environmental impact assessment.
A THAAD battery is composed of six mobile launchers, 48 interceptors, the AN/TPY-2 radar and the fire and control unit.
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Story Quote: "Following the DPRK's ICBM tests last month, President Moon ordered the further deployment of THAAD launchers, but an ICBM is not a direct threat to the South Korean territory as it has a range of at least 5,500 km.
The protesters insisted that Moon's order of the further THAAD deployment was made under the pressure from the U.S. government, saying the THAAD deployment will make South Korea become a missile defense outpost to protect the U.S. and Japan."
PacificSentinel: Exactly what part of Mutual Defense dont they understand, the USA protects South Korea, South Korea is required to do the same for the USA, that's how a Military Alliance works.