Anchor: South Korea and the United States have finally struck a deal to deploy the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense(THAAD) battery on the Korean Peninsula. The two sides tried to relieve misgivings by China and Russia by stating that THAAD will only counter threats by the North and won't be aimed at any third country.
Our Kim In-kyung has more.
 
Report: Seoul and Washington have made a final decision to deploy the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense(THAAD) battery in South Korea.
 
South Korea's Deputy Minister for Defense Policy Ryu Je-seung and Commander of the Eighth U.S. Army Thomas Vandal revealed the decision at a joint news conference Friday morning. 

[Sound bite: S. Korean Deputy Minister for Defense Policy Ryu Je-seung (Korean)]
"Based on discussions held thus far, the two nations have agreed to deploy the THAAD battery at a U.S. base in South Korea to assure the safety of the Republic of Korea and its citizens from the threat of the North's nuclear program, weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles and to protect the military strength of the South Korea-U.S. alliance." 

[Sound bite: Commander of the Eighth U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Thomas Vandal (English)]
"North Korea's continued pursuit of ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction in opposition to its commitments to the international community require our alliance to ensure that we retain the ability to defend ourselves in the face of this threat. Deploying THAAD to the Korean Peninsula will improve our missile defense posture, which is a critical aspect of our defense strategy."

South Korea and the U.S. are in the final stages of selecting an optimum site that can secure the safety and health of citizens as well as the effectiveness of THAAD to the defense ministers of the two nations. 

The location of the THAAD installment is expected to be announced as soon as this month. Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Wonju, Gangwon Province and Chilgok, North Gyeongsang Province are some the candidate sites, but analysts say the antimissile defense system could be deployed to the central part of the nation or regions around Gyeonggi Province which surround the capital.
 
At the news conference, Seoul and Washington stressed that the battery will only be used to counter the North's nuclear and missile threats and won't be aimed at any third country, an assurance apparently directed at China and Russia. The two have been strongly protesting against the deployment. 

Officials said that the South Korean government has informed Beijing and Moscow of the deployment the previous day through diplomatic channels.
Kim In-kyung, KBS World Radio News.