{"id":2200532,"date":"2023-03-27T08:00:03","date_gmt":"2023-03-26T23:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/?p=2200532"},"modified":"2023-04-05T16:07:50","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T07:07:50","slug":"u-s-forces-korea-holds-first-deployment-training-of-thaad-remote-launcher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/03\/u-s-forces-korea-holds-first-deployment-training-of-thaad-remote-launcher\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Forces Korea holds first deployment training of THAAD remote launcher"},"content":{"rendered":"
The U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) <\/span>said<\/span><\/a> on Friday it conducted a training exercise involving its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) remote launcher. It was the first time USFK conducted a training exercise with the missile defense system since it was deployed in South Korea in 2017.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cUnited States Forces Korea remains committed to maintaining a \u201cFight Tonight\u201d level of readiness and providing a combined defense posture to protect and defend the Republic of Korea against any threat or adversary,\u201d USFK said in a press release. USFK conducted the training exercise in conjunction with the Freedom Shield (FS) exercise.<\/span><\/p>\n Why It Matters<\/b><\/p>\n The training exercise took place about a month after South Korea\u2019s Ministry of Defense <\/span>publicized<\/span><\/a> its draft of the environmental impact assessment that THAAD has on its immediate surroundings. The draft stated there were no adverse effects from the battery\u2019s <\/span>electromagnetic waves<\/span><\/a>. The Yoon Suk-yeol administration has been pushing to normalize the anti-missile battery in Seongju. The Ministry of Environment is expected to concur with the environmental impact assessment in <\/span>July<\/span><\/a>, at which point USFK will likely begin constructing a permanent base for its THAAD batteries.<\/span><\/p>\n Seongju residents will likely renew their protests over normalizing the missile battery\u2019s deployment. It could also cause tension with Beijing, which has opposed THAAD\u2019s deployment in South Korea. Beijing has prohibited large tour groups of its citizens from traveling to the ROK since 2017 as part of its retaliation against Seoul\u2019s deployment of the THAAD anti-missile system.<\/span><\/p>\n