RT
April 28, 2017
Donald Trump said South Korea should pay for hosting the American THAAD anti-missile system, in line with his general narrative that America’s allies are taking advantage of US protection. Seoul has rejected the idea.
President Trump wants South Korea to pay around $1 billion for the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery, he told Reuters in an exclusive interview.
“I informed South Korea it would be appropriate if they paid. It’s a billion dollar system,” said Trump.
“It’s phenomenal, shoots missiles right out of the sky,” he added, promoting the anti-missile system that is being deployed in South Korea amid much public discontent and fears that it will only make the immediate surroundings a prime target of a potential strike.
This was the first time Trump has spoken directly about the costs of THAAD’s deployment in Korea. In order for Seoul to pay up, Trump would need to convince the next South Korean President, who will be decided on May 9 when the country head to the polls.
Seoul said it was not going to change the arrangement with the US on hosting the system.
“There is no change in South Korea and the United States’ position that our government provides the land and supporting facilities and the US bears the cost of the THAAD system’s deployment, operation and maintenance,” the South Korean Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Meanwhile, a top foreign policy adviser to South Korean presidential frontrunner Moon Jae-in has already said that paying for THAAD would be an “impossible option.”
“Even if we purchase THAAD, its main operation would be in the hands of the United States,” said Kim Ki-jung, a foreign policy adviser to Moon and professor at Seoul’s Yonsei University.
“So purchasing it would be an impossible option. That was our topic when we were considering the options,” Kim…