The United States is in talks with South Korea to help the country deploy a missile defense system, a defense official said on Sunday.
The sale of a missile defense system to South Korea would be directed at North Korea and is expected to rankle China.
Yoo Jeh Seung, a senior official with the South Korean Defense Ministry, told reporters that the talks were over a terminal high altitude area defense system. The move comes in response to a missile test by North Korea early on Sunday that took place in spite of international protestations.
North Korea issued a statement about the launch, referencing “the fascinating vapor” of the “Juche satellite … on the threshold of the Day of the Shining Star.” Juche refers to self-reliance, while the “shining star” refers to former North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il. The country often refers to its missile tests as “satellite” launches.
The missile was reportedly visible over Okinawa, falling to the East China Sea little more than 150 miles off the coast of the Korean Peninsula.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye called the launch an “intolerable provocation.” U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice said in a statement that the test worked to “undermine peace and security in the broader region.”
North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un has engaged in three long-range missile tests since taking over from his father in 2011, in addition to two nuclear tests. The country put its first satellite in space with a long-range rocket in 2012.
