S. Korea Dismisses Rumors On THAAD Purchase

South Korea’s Defense Ministry on Monday has denied reports on possible purchase of US-built THAAD missile defense system.

"(The speculation) is a mere rumor. It is not true," ministry spokesperson Moon Sang-gyun was quoted as saying by Yonhap during a regular press briefing today.

Various media outlets had reported earlier that Seoul would acquire one or two THAAD batteries to counter Pyongyang's evolving nuclear and missile threats.

Seoul and Washington have announced recently that they would launch formal talks over the deployment of THAAD soon, to protect the US Military forces stationed in the South.

Since only one THAAD battery can cover only half of the South, speculations were rife with South separately purchasing missiles to cover the whole country.

However, Yonhap reported that Seoul has been pushing to develop L-SAM, which is a long-range surface-to-air missile with interception capabilities similar to those of THAAD, as part of its efforts to construct an independent missile defense system called the Korea Air and Missile Defense.

Asked why the allies' official talks over THAAD have yet to begin, Moon said that Seoul and Washington were still in the process of working out the details of the operations of a joint working group to discuss the issue.

"We are now consulting with each other to craft the terms of agreement for the operation of the joint working group. We will notify you when the agreement is signed," Moon added.