SEOUL — (CNN) The US anti-missile system designed to mitigate the threat of North Korea’s missiles will soon be operational, the top US commander in the Pacific said Wednesday.
US Pacific Command chief Adm. Harry Harris told the House Armed Services Committee that the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system would be “operational in the coming days to be able to better defend South Korea against the growing North Korea threat.”
The THAAD system has been moved to South Korea in response to North Korea’s increased missile and nuclear tests, but it has drawn sharp opposition from China and Russia, who see it as also equalizing their nuclear deterrents.
The South Korean Defense Ministry said Wednesday that parts of the system had been moved to the planned deployment site.
Harris also cited the Carl Vinson carrier strike group deployment to northeast Asia as a deterrent against North Korea’s rising threats.
The Carl Vinson is headed that direction after initial confusion earlier this month about the location of the carrier.
Harris said that he was taking Kim Jong Un at his word that the North Korean leader is determined to develop a long-range nuclear missile that could strike the US and that should “provide us all a sense of urgency” to ensure US forces in the Pacific are prepared.
“We want to bring Kim Jong Un to his senses, not to his knees,” Harris said.
Harris’ testimony comes ahead of two congressional briefings on North Korea Wednesday afternoon, where Defense Secretary James Mattis, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joe Dunford, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats will brief the full House and Senate.
Senators are headed to the White House for the briefing, where President Donald Trump may drop in.
While the briefings are being held in a classified setting, House Armed Services Chairman Mac Thornberry of Texas said Harris’ testimony was important for reassuring the public.
“I think the public is nervous, and they need to know that we have the military capability to prevail should a conflict come,” Thornberry said ahead of the hearing.
Harris told the House panel the US has ships capable of defending ballistic missile attacks from North Korea, and that Pyongyang “does not have a weapon that would threaten the Carl Vinson strike group.”
Harris is testifying in three congressional hearings this week, but he’s doing so without Gen. Vincent Brooks, the head of US Forces Korea, who was supposed to testify but remained in the Pacific due to the increased tensions.
The-CNN-Wire ™ & © 2017 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved. (Photo: CNN)
