It looks like next week the deployment of the THAAD battery to South Korea will take one more step closer to becoming a reality with the reported transfer of the golf course owned by the Lotte Group to the ROK government:
This aerial photo taken on Oct. 27, 2016, shows the golf course in Seongju, 290 kilometers southeast of Seoul, that will host the U.S. missile shield system THAAD, short for Terminal High Altitude Area Defense. The golf course, owned by Lotte Group, was chosen as the final host site in late September.
The Thaad system, in the meanwhile, is set to be deployed in Korea by June at the earliest.
“After the Lotte Corporation holds a board meeting on Monday, it will likely sign a contract with the National Defense Ministry on Tuesday [to swap land for the Thaad deployment],” said a ministry official.
The two parties agreed in November to swap the Lotte Skyhill Seongju Country Club in Seongju County, North Gyeongsang, for government land in Namyangju, Gyeonggi. The Thaad system will be deployed at the former golf course. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
