South Korea and the United States officially kicked off negotiations Thursday to finalize the terms of deploying the advanced American missile defense system THAAD in South Korea, the foreign ministry said.
"With regard to the provision of land (for the deployment), a request has been filed to open negotiations between the Ministry of National Defense and the U.S. Forces Korea in accordance with the Status of Forces Agreement," foreign ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck said in a press briefing.
"The joint South Korea-U.S. committee chairman approved it today, letting the SOFA-related process start," he noted, referring to the bilateral accord governing the legal status of American forces stationed here.
The negotiations will undergo several phases before a conclusion, including an environmental review, the spokesman said, adding that the timing of the final conclusion will depend on how smoothly they are processed.
Cho said the allies are planning to complete the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system by the end of this year as previously pledged. (Yonhap)