THAAD In South Korea Reportedly Will Not Protect Seoul Area

As far as what I have read in the media USFK has never publicly said that the THAAD deployment to South Korea was intended to defend Seoul.  The deployment has always been pitched as adding protection against longer range missiles the North Koreans have fielded that the Patriot missile system cannot intercept.  North Korea is not going to use a long range missile on Seoul when shorter range missiles and artillery can strike the capitol city.  Where they would use their longer range missiles is against Busan thus why THAAD needs to be positioned in the southern area of the Korean peninsula:

Along with the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) system to South Korea, military authorities are working on a separate missile defense plan to protect Seoul and the surrounding area from attack by Pyongyang.

A high-ranking Korean military official told the JoongAng Ilbo on Monday, “There is a high likelihood that the final site for the Thaad system, which Korea and the U.S. are deciding on now, may be a location that might make it difficult to protect the Seoul metropolitan area, so we are making preparations.”

A working group established by Seoul and Washington to discuss the placement of the U.S. Forces Korea anti-missile system began in March. During the initial discussion over where to place a Thaad battery, Korea proposed a site in the central region. Washington preferred a more southern site to cover Busan, the site of the U.S. Naval Forces Korea headquarters, and its other military assets.

One government official familiar with the negotiation process over Thaad said, “The United States has said that the Thaad battery had to be out of reach of North Korea’s new 300 multiple rocket launch system, which has a range of 200 kilometers (124 miles), and in an emergency situation, should protect U.S. military personnel.”

The official continued, “The specific location cannot be revealed, but to my knowledge, the Thaad will be deployed to a southern-central region so that in case of an emergency it can protect the Busan port and other areas that will be used by U.S. troops from North Korea’s missile attack.”  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

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