Story highlights THAAD missile defense battery will be deployed in Seongju countySouth Korea says the battery is necessary to protect it from the NorthSeoul, South Korea (CNN) South Korea has announced the deployment of an advanced anti-missile system in Seongju county in the country's south. In a statement, Deputy National Defense Minister Yoo Jeh Seung said the location for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery would "maximize the military effectiveness of the THAAD battery while ensuring the safety of the local population." An official with South Korea's Defense Ministry told CNN the U.S. and South Korea "will be deploying THAAD for combat as soon as possible, by the end of next year at the latest." Washington and Seoul announced the battery's deployment last week , in a move that outraged North Korea, which has threatened to "physically act" against the THAAD and make the allies "suffer from the nightmare extreme uneasiness and terror." Yoo said the battery will be able to "protect one half to two-thirds of the entirety of our citizens from North Korean nuclear and missile threats and will dramatically strengthen the military capabilities and readiness to defend critical national infrastructure such as nuclear power plants and oil storage facilities."

Source: CNN July 13, 2016 06:08 UTC