SKorea to freeze new THAAD deployment pending probe

SEOUL: South Korea will suspend any further deployment of a controversial US missile defense system until an environmental impact assessment ordered by new President Moon Jae-In is finished, his office said Wednesday.

Seoul agreed last year under Moon's ousted predecessor Park Geun-Hye to deploy the powerful missile intercept system to guard against threats from nuclear-armed North Korea despite angry opposition from Beijing, which views it as a threat to its own military capabilities.