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Trump asks about THAAD first during phone call with Moon

Trump asks about THAAD first during phone call with Moon

Posted September. 06, 2017 08:51,   

Updated September. 06, 2017 10:08

한국어

"How is the THADD deployment progressing?"

U.S. President Donald Trump asked about THAAD first during a telephone call with President Moon Jae-in Monday afternoon. Trump asked about it before discussing lifting warhead weight limit on Korean missiles in the event of the revision of Korea-U.S. missile guideline. The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said that Moon responded by saying, "We will complete as soon as possible the temporary deployment of THADD by the U.S. troops in Korea."

People familiar with the conversation say concerns of conflict between Korea and the U.S. have subdued temporarily. However, given that Trump first asked about THAAD issue, concerns are also rising on whether the two countries are collaborating with each other in a way that can safely restrict Kim Jong Un's nuclear ambitions. 

Korea-U.S. FTA issue never came up during the phone conversation. "Working-level discussions were made ahead of the phone call where we delivered that fact that Korean people are raising concerns of the U.S.' comments on withdrawing the Korea-U.S. FTA," a presidential office official said.

U.S. troops in Korea are known to be examining additional deployments of THAAD units besides the ones currently being promoted. This is based on a judgement that if North Korea's ICBM deployment becomes a reality, additional THAAD will be needed to protect overall Korea including the Seoul metropolitan area. "Vincent Brooks, commander of the U.S. Forces Korea, also supports the need to deploy more THAAD units," military sources said.



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