“Six THAAD Launchers Left from Seongju Already Moved to the Middle East 8 Days Ago”: Anti-THAAD NGO confirms THAAD Withdrawal from Korea

It was belatedly revealed that six launchers were removed from the U.S. THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) base in Soseong-ri, Seongju County, North Gyeongsang Province, and moved to the Middle East. Local residents and anti-THAAD groups are now demanding the complete withdrawal of the THAAD base, arguing that the justification for its deployment as a defense against North Korea has clearly disappeared.

The THAAD Withdrawal Peace Conference, a coalition of six organizations including the Seongju Residents’ Countermeasure Committee for THAAD Withdrawal, released a statement on the 11th saying:

“U.S. authorities have officially confirmed that the six THAAD launchers removed from the Seongju base have been relocated to the Middle East. This reveals that the true purpose of THAAD deployment was not ‘defense against North Korea,’ but surveillance against China by the United States. We oppose the reintroduction of the THAAD launchers and demand the immediate withdrawal of the remaining radar and the entire THAAD base.”

Closed-circuit television footage installed at the entrance of the Soseong-ri village hall shows that starting at 12:35 a.m. on the 3rd, U.S. military trucks carrying THAAD launchers left the village one after another.

Residents said they heard the trucks passing that night but assumed it was a routine movement exercise, as had happened before. Only recently did they learn through media reports that the launchers had actually been moved to the Middle East.

The Peace Conference stated:

“A THAAD battery consists of one unit with six launchers. Without launchers, the remaining THAAD operational system cannot serve to defend South Korea from North Korean nuclear or missile attacks. Instead, it effectively serves to defend the U.S. mainland and American forces in the Pacific from North Korean and Chinese missile attacks using the THAAD radar. The United States has effectively admitted this itself.”

They further argued:

“U.S. Forces Korea assets have been reduced to tools of ‘strategic flexibility,’ which can be deployed to battlefields around the world whenever the United States requires them militarily. This means that the Korean Peninsula could be drawn into U.S.–China conflict or Middle Eastern wars regardless of our own will, and could become the first target of attack. Ultimately, THAAD is not a pillar of security but a fuse that could draw the Korean Peninsula into the flames of war.”

The statement concluded:

“We refuse to continue serving as a supporting role for U.S. war efforts. The Lee Jae-myung administration must break away from the humiliating U.S.–ROK alliance and establish truly independent national defense and peace policies.”