US, South Korea to Deploy THAAD Missile Defense

AS IT IS 2016-07-09 US, South Korea to Deploy¹ THAAD Missile Defense²

United States and South Korean officials have announced plans to deploy a U.S. missile defense system to South Korea.

The officials said the deployment³ is to answer North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile development programs.

General Thomas Vandal is the chief of staff for U.S. Forces in Korea. He and South Korean Deputy Minister of Defense Ryu Je-seung made the announcement in Seoul.

Vandal said the two countries had to defend themselves from North Korean weapons. He criticized North Korea’s continued development of ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction.

The missile system is called THAAD, short for Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense. It can shoot down ballistic missiles before they hit their targets on the ground.

On Friday, North Korea criticized the U.S. and South Korean agreement. China also expressed strong opposition⁴ to the planned deployment and urged the U.S. and South Korea to put a stop to it.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry⁵ said the missile system is not helpful for keeping peace on the Korean peninsula. It also said the deployment will harm the security of countries in the area, including China.

In the past, Chinese officials have raised concerns that the THAAD radar⁶ system could be used to observe Chinese territory.

The U.S. Department of Defense said in a statement that the only weapons to be watched will be North Korean weapons.

The Russian government also criticized the planned deployment. It said THAAD will have “irreparable consequences” and will increase tensions in East Asia.

South Korea and the United States opened talks about THAAD in February. That followed North Korea’s most recent nuclear test and launch of a long-range rocket.

U.S. officials say North Korea has continued to develop its nuclear and missile program in violation⁷ of United Nations sanctions.

Last month, North Korea launched a partially-successful test of a Musudan missile. That missile flew about 400 kilometers before falling into the sea. But there were signs the North Korean military had or is close to developing the ability to reach U.S. bases in Asia and on islands in the Pacific Ocean.

North Korea is believed to have 30 Musudan missiles. The North Koreans also have close to 1,000 other Soviet⁸ model missiles. These missiles can reach targets in South Korea and Japan.

American officials have said they believe North Korea has enough plutonium to make eight to 12 nuclear weapons.

Words in This Story

altitude – n. the height of something

peninsula – n. a piece of land that is almost entirely⁹ surrounded by water and is attached to a larger land area

ballistic missile – n. a weapon that is shot through the sky over a great distance and then falls to the ground and explodes

irreparable – adj. too bad to be corrected or repaired

sanctions – n. actions that are taken or orders that are given to force a country to obey international laws by limiting or stopping trade with that country

plutonium – n. an element that is used to make nuclear energy and nuclear weapons

1 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

2 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

3 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

7 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

8 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

9 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。