"For security, [we] have to deploy [THAAD]… As we cannot wait even for a moment to cope with North Korea's nuclear provocations, we have to do what we can do first," Hwang said during a parliamentary session, as quoted by the Yonhap news agency.
Hwang's proposal comes amid calls from opposition parties to delay the deployment, scheduled for May 2017, and strong objections from China.
In July, Seoul and Washington agreed to deploy the THAAD system in South Korea's Seongju County amid growing tensions spurred by North Korea's ballistic and nuclear tests. The THAAD system is designed to intercept short, medium and intermediate ballistic missiles at the terminal incoming stage. The move has been criticized by neighboring China and Russia as inappropriate, possibly disproportionate and affecting other countries' interests.
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