Reports of Some USFK THAAD Units Moving to Middle East... Pentagon Says It Has "No Comment"

New York (Financial News) –The United States Department of Defense (DoD) has responded "no comment" to foreign media reports that some air-defense assets of United States Forces Korea (USFK) have been moved to the Middle East.
As the conflict between the United States and Iran intensifies, some observers speculate that Washington may be redeploying assets from the Indo-Pacific region to strengthen air defenses in the Middle East.
On the 10th (local time), a DoD official, asked by Yonhap News Agency to confirm a related report by The Washington Post (WP), stated, "For operational security reasons, we do not comment on the movement of specific military capabilities or assets." The official added, however, that "United States Forces Korea (USFK) remains focused on maintaining a credible combat posture on the Korean Peninsula."
Earlier, The Washington Post reported, citing two U.S. government officials, that the Pentagon is moving part of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system deployed in South Korea to the Middle East. According to the report, the U.S. military is reinforcing air defenses in the region to prepare for potential attacks by Iranian drones and ballistic missiles, and is also drawing on stockpiles of Patriot interceptor missiles deployed in the Indo-Pacific region.
Recent sightings of large transport aircraft taking off from Osan Air Base have been interpreted as part of this movement. Military flight-tracking data indicate that U.S. strategic airlifters have repeatedly departed from South Korea, prompting speculation that some of USFK's air-defense assets may already have been moved to the Middle East.



pride@fnnews.com Reporter Lee Byung-chul Reporter