SEOUL, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Villagers living near a site in South Korea where one Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery will be deployed have voiced stronger opposition to the installation of the U.S. missile defense system in their hometown.
Right after Seoul's defense ministry said last Wednesday that one THAAD battery will be deployed to the Seongju county, some 300 km southeast of Seoul, by the end of next year, more than 200 villagers including the county head rode buses to get to the defense ministry's headquarters in the capital city.
The villagers wore a red band around heads or shoulders that read "Absolute Objection to THAAD," demonstrating in a building beside the defense ministry's headquarters against the decision to deploy the U.S. interceptors and hazardous radar without any prior notice and discussion.
The THAAD's X-band radar is known to emit super-strong microwave detrimental to human body. It can also cause an environment hazard, boosting worries among villagers about the oriental melon farming, the economic mainstay of the Seongju county. Villagers returned home almost at midnight after the seven-hour protest.
The next day, President Park Geun-hye told government officials to make efforts to appease concerns among villagers, saying it is time to stop needless squabbling over THAAD. Later in the day, she left for Mongolia to attend the ASEM summit and her first state-visit to the country.
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