Vice Defense Minister Suh Choo-suk met face to face Thursday with residents living right next to the deployment site of THAAD missile defense, and told them reversing the deployment would be very difficult.
Residents of Seongju County and the nearby city of Gimcheon in North Gyeongsang Province are demanding the Moon Jae-in administration completely reconsider the THAAD deployment.
In meetings with about 20 regional representatives, Vice Defense Minister Suh passed on the administration's position that the THAAD deployment decision is based on a national security assessment by the South Korea-U.S. alliance to counter North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats.
The Moon administration has slowed down the THAAD deployment schedule somewhat over procedural concerns and pending an study of the environmental impact of the system on the region.
Source: KBS World Radio