South Korea is leaning toward introducing an advanced U.S. missile defense system to guard itself against threats from North Korea following Pyongyang's recent nuclear test, a bulwark strongly opposed by China.

Current and former U.S. officials who have recently spoken with top South Korean policy makers say the country hasn't decided yet whether to adopt the system but that informal talks between Washington and Seoul had increased recently.

One American official said there was a strong chance the U.S. could announce that the two countries are in negotiations over the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or Thaad, in the next week or so.

A former U.S. official who recently met with senior South Korean officials said a consensus appeared to be forming in Seoul. "Behind the scenes it looks like Thaad is close to a done deal," this person said.

A spokesman for South Korea's presidential office said Seoul was considering all options on missile defense based on the national security interest.

Any such deployment would put a sophisticated piece of U.S. military hardware close to China and potentially raise friction with Beijing. The radar system's coverage would extend beyond North Korea into China's north.

The move would enhance Washington's military profile as it seeks to form a comprehensive missile defense network in Northeast Asia with an existing Thaad in Guam and another potentially in Japan, where officials are considering the deployment of such a system.

The system would also highlight a split between Washington and Beijing over how to curb Pyongyang's pursuit of advanced weaponry. On Wednesday, Secretary of State John Kerry said in Beijing that the U.S. must take more defensive measures to protect itself and its allies, as he called for China to toughen its stance on North Korea.

The perception of a new threat from North Korea emerged on Thursday when Japan's Kyodo News Agency reported that the country may be preparing for another long-range missile test within days. It cited an unidentified Japanese official's interpretation of recent satellite imagery of a North Korean missile site.

Any such a test would violate U.N. Security Council resolutions and signal Pyongyang's intent to continue to develop weapons of mass destruction to protect its regime and force concessions such as aid from other nations.

A South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman said Seoul was monitoring North Korea's missile bases but couldn't confirm any expected launches.

A Pentagon spokesman declined to discuss any specific U.S. intelligence on any missile launches but said "we urge North Korea to refrain from actions and rhetoric that threaten regional peace and security."

For years, Seoul has preferred to develop its own missile-defense system but has made limited progress. In 2014, U.S. officials raised the prospect of deploying a Thaad battery in South Korea. That sparked intense public debate in South Korea, which balances its defense alliance with the U.S. along with its close economic ties with China.

Beijing has made clear its opposition to a Thaad in South Korea and has reacted coolly to closer defense cooperation between the U.S. and its two main allies in the region, Japan and South Korea.

"South Korea will sacrifice its fast-developing relations with China, if it should be seduced into the defense network, ignoring the protest of the largest economy in Asia," China's state-run news agency Xinhua wrote in 2014.

North Korea's Jan. 6 nuclear test refocused discussion on the Thaad, the officials said. That is when Pyongyang claimed to have successfully tested a small version of a hydrogen bomb.

Since then, South Korean President Park Geun-hye and her defense minister said the introduction of the Thaad system should be considered. "There's a sufficient need to review it because our [missile defense] capabilities are limited," Defense Minister Han Min-koo said this week on television.

South Korea's existing defenses rely on intercepting missiles at low altitudes, giving only a brief window of time to destroy them. The Thaad system, made by Lockheed Martin Corp. and Raytheon Co., targets missiles at higher altitudes, creating another layer of defense and more time to neutralize an attack. It could also cover other areas of South Korea currently vulnerable to attack.

Senior officials from both of South Korea's main political parties, even those on the left who are generally more skeptical of a higher-profile defense posture, have spoken out in favor of Thaad deployment in recent days.

Lee Seok-Hyun, the vice speaker of South Korea's National Assembly and a member of the main opposition party this month called Thaad an "indispensable self-defense" for South Korea.

"Seoul may feel it necessary to gradually acclimatize the South Korean public to the policy shift in bite-sized announcements, particularly prior to the upcoming National Assembly elections (in April)," said Bruce Klingner, senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based think tank.

Chieko Tsuneoka in Tokyo contributed to this article.

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 28, 2016 04:05 ET (09:05 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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