Trump Rattles South Korea by Saying It Should Pay for Antimissile System<br />On Friday, after Mr. Trump’s comment reached South Korea, Mr. Moon’s campaign headquarters reiterated<br />that whoever wins the May election should review, along with the National Assembly, Ms. Park’s decision to accept the missile defense system and determine whether deploying it was in South Korea’s national interest.<br />Contrary to Mr. Trump’s remarks, South Korea has repeatedly said<br />that it would provide the land and build the base needed for the Thaad missile battery and that the United States would pay for the deployment, operation and maintenance of the system, which was purchased from Lockheed Martin.<br />The gap between Mr. Trump’s comments and what South Koreans have been told by their government about the cost of the deployment "makes it clear<br />that there was a serious flaw in the decision to deploy Thaad," Mr. Youn said on Friday.<br />Both the United States and South Korea said Thaad was aimed at defending South Korean<br />and American troops in South Korea from North Korea’s ballistic missiles.<br />By CHOE SANG-HUNAPRIL 28, 2017<br />SEOUL, South Korea — President Trump’s comment that he wants South Korea to pay for a missile defense system being set up in the country jolted its presidential race on Friday<br />and surprised the government, leaving it scrambling to figure out the intentions of a close ally.<br />In an interview with Reuters on Thursday, Mr. Trump said<br />that he wanted South Korea to pay for the system, known as Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or Thaad, whose cost he estimated at $1 billion.
