Mock-up missiles displayed at Seoul's war museum[Photo by Namkung Jin-woong]
The United States and South Korea opened talks Friday on the deployment of an advanced US missile defense system on the Korean peninsula despite strong opposition by China.
The allies formed a joint working group for discussion on sites for the US Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, timeline, cost-sharing and other details, the South's defense ministry said.
South Korea was headed by Defense Ministry director general Jang Kyung-soo, while the US side was led by Major General Robert Hedelund.
Washington insists the THAAD system is a deterrent necessitated by the North's advancing ballistic missile program, while China and Russia argue that it would undermine stability and could trigger an arms race in a delicately balanced region.
China and Russia are North Korea's only significant diplomatic protectors, although both have signaled growing impatience with Pyongyang's refusal to rein in its nuclear weapons program.
Seoul has said that the US missile system would be used only to deter North Korea's missile threat.
US troops in South Korea have already conducted informal studies to find suitable sites for a possible THAAD deployment.
Aju News Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
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