US did not move THAAD defence system from South Korea to Middle East, general says
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It was reported in March that the Pentagon was moving parts of a THAAD system to the Middle East from South Korea.
- US commander stated no THAAD missile defence systems were moved from South Korea to the Middle East, despite earlier reports.
- General Brunson clarified radar components were temporarily moved and munitions were sent forward, not the whole system, causing confusion.
- THAAD remains in South Korea to deter North Korea; President Lee Jae Myung affirms Seoul can deter threats.
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WASHINGTON - The United States did not move a key missile defence system from South Korea to the Middle East for the Iran war, the commander of US forces in Korea said on April 21.
The Washington Post reported in March that the Pentagon was moving parts of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system to the Middle East from South Korea, citing two officials.
The US-made THAAD system is used for high-altitude interception of ballistic missiles and it was deployed in South Korea to guard against nuclear-armed North Korea.
The commander of US Forces in Korea, General Xavier Brunson, was asked at a Senate committee hearing by Democratic Senator Gary Peters about South Korean concerns that moving THAAD weakened deterrence against North Korea.
“We have not moved any THAAD systems, so THAAD still remains on the peninsula currently, but we are sending munitions forward, and those are sitting right now waiting to move,” Gen Brunson said.
“So there were previous moves, where radars were taken forward. This was in advance of Midnight Hammer,” he said referring to US attacks on Iran in June 2025.
“Some of those things have not come back yet, but the THAAD systems themselves... remain on peninsula,” he said, adding that he expected them to remain there.
“We moved them around. I think that’s what got into the information space,” Gen Brunson said.
“I was dynamically moving those around, so that I could then sequence them into Osan Air Base to prepare them to move the munitions and that caused a big kerfuffle on the peninsula,” he said, referring to one of the two main US air bases in South Korea.
After the reports of the movements in March, South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung said Seoul could deter any threats from North Korea even if Washington redeploys weapons from the peninsula. REUTERS
