The United States has not withdrawn its deployed Terminal High Altitude Area Defense - THAAD - systems from South Korea to the Middle East, the senior U.S. commander in Korea said at a Senate hearing on Tuesday.
General Xavier Brunson, commander of U.S. Forces in Korea, was asked by Senator Gary Peters, a Democrat, about concerns raised in Seoul that any redeployment of THAAD could weaken deterrence against North Korea. Brunson replied that the THAAD systems themselves "remain on the peninsula currently," and he added that he expected them to remain there.
Reports in March had said parts of a U.S. THAAD system were being shifted from South Korea to support operations related to the Iran conflict. Brunson acknowledged that certain radar units had been moved forward as part of planning ahead of "Midnight Hammer," the U.S. attacks on Iran last June, and that some of those elements had not yet returned. He said munitions were being moved forward and are currently staged awaiting onward movement.
"We have not moved any THAAD systems, so THAAD still remains on the peninsula currently, but we are sending munitions forward, and those are sitting right now waiting to move," Brunson told the committee. He explained that prior repositioning of radars and the sequencing of equipment into Osan Air Base contributed to public confusion.
"We moved them around. I think that’s what got into the information space," Brunson said, describing how he was "dynamically moving those around, so that I could then sequence them into Osan Air Base to prepare them to move the munitions and that caused a big kerfuffle on the peninsula." Osan Air Base is one of two principal U.S. air bases in South Korea.
THAAD is a U.S.-made missile defense system designed to intercept ballistic missiles at higher altitudes. It was deployed in South Korea as a defense measure against threats from a nuclear-armed North Korea.
Following the March reporting on equipment movements, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said Seoul could still deter threats from North Korea even if some U.S. weapons were redeployed off the peninsula.
The clarification from General Brunson focused on the distinction between moving components and radars versus relocating the THAAD batteries themselves. He emphasized that while some associated equipment has been maneuvered and munitions have been staged forward, the deployed THAAD systems remain based in South Korea and are expected to stay there.