2017年CRI Remaining THAAD elements transported to deployment site in South Korea

 

The remaining elements of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense¹ (THAAD) missile interception² system were transported Thursday morning to the site in southeast South Korea.

At about 8:10 a.m. local time (2310 GMT Wednesday), trucks of the US forces carrying four mobile launchers and other elements, such as a power-supplying machine, passed by anti-THAAD protesters standing³ beside the village hall of Soseong-ri in Seongju county, North Gyeongsang province.

The trucks were trailed by other vehicles carrying construction equipment and materials.

With the additional deployment⁴ and construction works, the THAAD battery in South Korea, which will be operated by the US Forces Korea (USFK), would be in full operation.

The protesters were blocked by about 8,000 riot policemen of South Korea. From around midnight, the policemen launched a maneuver⁵ to break up some 400 peace activists⁶ and residents living in Seongju and the Gimcheon city that borders the county.

The violent attempt to disperse⁷ the anti-THAAD civilians⁸ injured almost 30 people, taking them to a nearby hospital, according to local media reports.

After the passage of the trucks, one granny said with tearful eyes that she had "nothing to say" about the nighttime delivery. Some of the protesters shed tears, with others cursing the current government. 

The residents and peace activists have held candlelight rallies every night since Seoul and Washington announced the plan to install one THAAD battery in July last year.

On April 26, two launchers and other THAAD elements were transported in the middle of night to the former golf course at Soseong-ri village in the Seongju county.

During the April 26 transportation, a physical clash occurred between police and protesters. On his campaign trail, President Moon Jae-in also condemned⁹ the violent transportation.

Seoul's defense ministry¹⁰ said Wednesday evening that the remaining THAAD factors would be delivered to Soseong-ri within Thursday.

The ministry said the further deployment was aimed to tackle rising nuclear and missile threats from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

President Moon ordered the temporary installation of the US missile shield following Pyongyang's test in late July of what the DPRK claimed was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which is not a direct threat to Seoul as an ICBM refers to a ballistic missile with a range of at least 5,500 km.

Moon's office said the final decision on the US missile defense system would be made after a general green audit¹¹ ends. The audit was forecast to take at least six months.

The DPRK's nuclear threat cannot be protected by THAAD, said a female university student, who voluntarily joined the anti-THAAD moves and made a free speech after the passage of the US trucks.

She expressed her wish to live in a peaceful country, stressing that peace cannot be achieved by a war weapon and warning THAAD would impede¹² peace on the Korean Peninsula.

THAAD cannot protect Seoul and its suburban¹³ metropolitan¹⁴ area as the US missile shield is deployed¹⁵ at a location some 300 km away from the capital city. THAAD interceptors are known to have a maximum interception range of 200 km. 

The US anti-missile system is designed to shoot down incoming missiles at an altitude of 40-150 km. DPRK missiles and artillery¹⁶ shells targeting South Korea fly at an altitude of less than 40 km.

Neighboring countries, including China and Russia, have strongly opposed the THAAD deployment in South Korea as it breaks regional strategic balance and damages security interests of the two countries. THAAD's radar¹⁷ can peer deep into the Chinese and Russian territories.

The X-band radar is known to emit super microwave, detrimental¹⁸ to human body and environment. South Korea's environment ministry said its potential damage would be slight, but anti-THAAD civilians believed that the ministry's measurement was distorted as it was measured when the THAAD was not in full operation.

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 interception   

n.拦截；截击；截取；截住，截断；窃听

参考例句：

• Aerial photography can provide valuable information on precipitation, evapotraspiration, interception, and runoff. 航空摄影可提供有关降水量、蒸发蒸腾量、入渗和径流量的有价值的资料。
• Light interception and distribution in hedgerow orchards with different alleyway widths is indicated in Fig. 56. 图56显示篱壁果园不同行间宽度的光能截取和分配的情况。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 deployment   

n. 部署,展开

参考例句：

• He has inquired out the deployment of the enemy troops. 他已查出敌军的兵力部署情况。
• Quality function deployment (QFD) is a widely used customer-driven quality, design and manufacturing management tool. 质量功能展开(quality function deployment,QFD)是一个广泛应用的顾客需求驱动的设计、制造和质量管理工具。

5 maneuver   

n.策略[pl.]演习；v.(巧妙)控制；用策略

参考例句：

• All the fighters landed safely on the airport after the military maneuver.在军事演习后，所有战斗机都安全降落在机场上。
• I did get her attention with this maneuver.我用这个策略确实引起了她的注意。

6 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 disperse   

vi.使分散；使消失；vt.分散；驱散

参考例句：

• The cattle were swinging their tails to disperse the flies.那些牛甩动着尾巴驱赶苍蝇。
• The children disperse for the holidays.孩子们放假了。

8 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

9 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

10 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

11 audit   

v.审计；查帐；核对；旁听

参考例句：

• Each year they audit our accounts and certify them as being true and fair.他们每年对我们进行账务审核，以确保其真实无误。
• As usual,the yearly audit will take place in December.跟往常一样，年度审计将在十二月份进行。

12 impede   

v.妨碍，阻碍，阻止

参考例句：

• One shouldn't impede other's progress.一个人不应该妨碍他人进步。
• The muddy roads impede our journey.我们的旅游被泥泞的道路阻挠了。

13 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

14 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

15 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

16 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

17 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

18 detrimental   

adj.损害的，造成伤害的

参考例句：

• We know that heat treatment is detrimental to milk.我们知道加热对牛奶是不利的。
• He wouldn't accept that smoking was detrimental to health.他不相信吸烟有害健康。