The U.S. military began deploying an advanced defensive missile system to South Korea on Monday, a long-awaited move that was agreed upon with the government in Seoul last summer and follows a series of provocations by North Korea. Three of the missiles traveled about 600 miles over North Korea and the Sea of Japan before landing inside of Japan’s exclusive economic zone. U.S. military officials stress that it provides strictly defensive capabilities, but it also possesses powerful radar that Chinese officials are concerned will be used to observe Chinese airspace. But South Korean defense officials said they would keep the equipment at the U.S. air base at Osan until the site was ready. “The deployment could be completed within one or two months, and it can be operational as early as April,” a South Korean military official told reporters in Seoul.

Source: National Post March 07, 2017 14:37 UTC