Seoul says won’t join U.S. missile defense

The Ministry of National Defense said Saturday that it currently has no plan to join the U.S.-led Missile Defense system. But it said Seoul would seek to strengthen cooperation between the system and the Korea Air Missile Defense program to better deal with North Korean nuclear threats.

“South Korea and the U.S. will discuss intelligence sharing and operation of means regarding the missile defense system so as to protect the Korean Peninsula from the threats of North Korean nuclear weapons and its weapons of mass destruction at the Extended Deterrence Policy Committee,” said the ministry in a statement.

“This does not mean that we will join the MD (U.S. missile defense system). This means we will strengthen cooperation with the U.S. Forces Korea in the sharing of intelligence and operation of available assets to effectively respond to threats from North Korean ballistic missiles.”

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