South Korean president halts deployment of THAAD system

South Korea’s president on Wednesday suspended additional deployments of the United States’ THAAD missile defense system pending an environmental assessment, The New York Times reported.

The decision by recently elected President Moon Jae-in to put the deployments on hold is the latest signal of the new administration’s intention to reevaluate the nature of the long-standing alliance between South Korea and the U.S.

The U.S. has already deployed two THAAD systems in South Korea. Those systems, according to the Times, will be allowed to remain in place. The suspension will apply to four launchers that have not yet been installed.

{mosads}

The U.S. began installing the missile defense systems in March amid increasing concerns over North Korea’s rapid acceleration of its weapons programs. 

But the decision to deploy the launchers were met with stern opposition from Beijing, where Chinese leaders feared that the system’s radar could be used by the U.S. to peer into China’s airspace and track its military movements. 

In South Korea, the THAAD deployments are seen by some as a sign of escalating tensions between the U.S. and North Korea, which has threatened attacks against the U.S. and its allies in the region, notably South Korea and Japan.

Moon, a liberal whose election last month ended nearly a decade of conservative rule in South Korea, campaigned on easing tensions between Seoul and Pyongyang, while taking a far more wary approach to the South’s relationship with Washington than his conservative predecessors.

As a candidate, Moon also vowed to re-evaluate the U.S. installation of the missile defense system, and has left open the possibility of talks with North Korea.