[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] On the 11th, the Presidential Office responded to the Chinese government's claim that our government officially declared the '3 No's and 1 Limit' regarding the deployment and operation of the U.S. Forces Korea's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system by stating, "The government would like to reiterate that THAAD is a self-defensive measure to protect the lives and safety of our people from North Korea's nuclear and missile threats."
A Presidential Office official said this during a press briefing at the Yongsan Presidential Office building in the morning when asked, "China has stated that Korea has pledged the 3 No's and 1 Limit. What is the Presidential Office's position?"
The '3 No's' of THAAD refer to the policy announced by Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha of the Moon Jae-in administration in October 2017 at the National Assembly, which includes ▲not deploying additional THAAD units, ▲not participating in a trilateral military alliance among Korea, the U.S., and Japan, and ▲not joining the U.S.-led missile defense (MD) system. The '1 Limit' refers to restricting the operation of the deployed THAAD system.
The official added, "I understand that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already responded, but what can be reiterated is that (THAAD) is a matter related to security sovereignty."
Earlier, Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a briefing the previous day, "The Korean government has politically and officially declared the '3 No's and 1 Limit' externally."
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