South Korea will have the final say as to whether the U.S. deploys a new anti-ballistic missile system in that country, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Friday.
“Obviously, we would defer to the preferences of our allies in South Korea about whether or not they would like to have this additional equipment located on their territory,” Earnest said about ongoing discussions with Seoul over possibly deploying the system, which is known as THAAD.
Discussions began as North Korea provocatively conducted nuclear and missile tests more frequently. But China and Russia are uneasy about THAAD’s possible deployment.
“I’ll just point out that that equipment would be oriented toward the threat that is posed by North Korea, not oriented toward China or Russia,” Earnest noted. He said Pyongyang alone is responsible for consideration of the missile system.
“That has been our contention all along and those are the facts,” Earnest said. “It’s not a result of the changes that are made by Russia or China.”
Earnest said the U.S. is just looking for a way to help its ally, South Korea.
“[U]ltimately this is a sovereign country and because they’re an ally of the United States, we’re looking for ways to help them,” Earnest said. “But ultimately, they would make the final call.”
