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Deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system on the Korean Peninsula would cost around US$2.5 billion, the Air Force Chief of Staff said on Sept. 22.

A propeller from the 1,800-ton top-of-the-line submarine Ahn Jung-geun was also reportedly replaced five years after its introduction because of 151 cracks found on it.

Newly appointed Air Force Chief of Staff Jeong Kyeong-doo responded to questions on the cost of THAAD deployment from New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) lawmaker Kim Kwang-jin during a National Assembly National Defense Committee parliamentary audit on Sept. 22 at Air Force headquarters at Gyeryongdae, South Chungcheong Province.

“It would be around plus or minus three trillion won (US$2.53 billion), although nothing precise has been given yet,” Jeong said.

Ahn Gyu-baek, another NPAD lawmaker, mentioned rumors that the THAAD deployment was imminent.

“I haven‘t heard anything at all about that,” Jeong said in reply. “There are no plans along those lines with the Ministry of National Defense or Joint Chiefs of Staff.”

Jeong was cautious on the US’s consideration of deploying THAAD on the peninsula, noting that the system would have weaknesses as well as strengths.

“There are several conditions that would first have to be met to operate THAAD,” he said when asked by Saenuri Party (NFP) lawmaker Yoo Seong-min if he agreed with the deployment.

“The depth [distance between the front and rear] of the Korean Peninsula is short, which means we would need a system that is sufficiently integrated with ISR [intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance] assets [such as satellites, reconnaissance planes, and radar] to allow real-time detection, identification, and interception of enemy missiles for [THAAD] to be effective,” Jeong added.

Jeong’s argument is that the THAAD system would not be effective unless South Korea met the military conditions for preliminary detection.

Meanwhile, Kim Kwang-jin also announced during a parliamentary audit at Navy headquarters on the same location that afternoon that Navy maintenance depot crack testing conducted in Aug. 2014 showed 151 cracks in the propeller on the Ahn Jung-geun submarine.

The depot in question requested a close examination by maker Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) after discovering seven cracks on seven of the Ahn Jung-geun’s wings following its delivery to the Navy in Nov. 2009.

After its examination found a total of 151 cracks, HHI submitted an opinion to the Defense Agency for Technology and Quality (DTaQ) stating that the “cracks were too severe for continued use to be possible.”

The company has since discarded the cracked propeller and replaced it with a German unit.

By Kim Ji-hoon, staff reporter

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