Some of the THAAD launchers (vehicles) that left the US Forces Korea Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) base in Seongju, North Gyeongsang, on the 3rd and headed for Osan base returned after ten days.

The Soseong-ri Joint Situation Room for THAAD Withdrawal said on the 13th that at about 11:25 p.m. the previous day, one of the six launchers taken out of the Seongju base moved back to the Seongju base.

The Situation Room had previously said that, after checking the closed-circuit (CC)TV installed at the Soseong-ri village hall, the only route leading to the THAAD base, it confirmed that starting at 12:35 a.m. on the 3rd, six THAAD launchers exited one after another.

With some THAAD launchers returning, there is also the possibility of additional redeployment. There is also a view that they could stay at Osan base for shipment to the Middle East.

Earlier, the ‘THAAD Withdrawal Peace Conference’, a coalition of six groups opposing THAAD, after determining on the 11th that some launchers were being moved to the Middle East, called for blocking the reintroduction of launchers into the Seongju base and for the removal of the remaining radar.

At the Seongju base, deployment of one THAAD battery was completed in September 2017. It is the only high-altitude missile defense system deployed in South Korea, with an intercept altitude of 40~150㎞.

One THAAD battery consists of a fire control center, a radar, and six launchers. Each launcher is fitted with eight launch tubes, so a single battery can carry a total of 48 interceptor missiles.