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Thomas Vandal

Another site survey is taking place on Aug. 14 for the base in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, where the US Forces Korea THAAD system is deployed.

“Yesterday, the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Environment completed a site survey to measure electromagnetic waves and noise within the base,” a defense official reported on Aug. 13.

“Tomorrow, there will be a site survey focusing on a few facilities that could not be checked yesterday, including wastewater and oil storage facilities,” the official added.

The ministry plans to fly the survey team into the base on helicopters on Aug. 14 if residents block access. According to the ministry, electromagnetic wave and noise measurements within the base the day before were all below the legal threshold.

Once the site survey is completed on Aug. 14, the ministry plans to hasten procedures for a small-scale environmental impact assessment, including an open regional discussion on Aug. 17. A report previously submitted by the ministry on July 24 after a small-scale assessment commissioned in Dec. 2016 is currently being reviewed by the Ministry of Environment. The site survey, including the wave and noise measurements on Aug. 12 and the wastewater facility inspection on Aug. 14, is part of this review process.

The Ministry of National Defense expects the small-scale environment impact assessment procedures to be completed by the end of this month. Once the procedure is finished, it plans to immediately begin construction on equipment for stable operation of the launchers, radar, battery control center, and generators previously deployed to the Seongju base in a surprise delivery in April. The construction effort is to include reinforcement of the THAAD launcher pads and other equipment, the building of roads within the base, and the building of housing for US soldiers, along with other amenities.

With the base‘s access road blocked by local residents opposed to the deployment, it remains to be seen whether construction goes ahead smoothly. The Ministry of National Defense said that it would be conducting a separate regular environmental impact assessment, the findings from which would be referred to in a final decision on whether to deploy THAAD.

commander of USFK

By Park Byong-su, senior staff writer

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