A top U.S. administration security official officially said the export of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor missiles was a strategic decision made after thorough advance review. Despite concerns about a security gap and controversy over the outflow of U.S. Forces Korea capabilities, this suggests that defense asset on the Korean Peninsula can be flexibly deployed to other regions at any time under the United States' global military strategy.
According to the transcript of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense hearing on the 12th (local time), U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth attended a hearing on the fiscal year 2027 budget hosted by the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense and said, "The move to relocate some THAAD equipment to the Middle East was a meticulously preplanned decision."
On this day, Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz asked Minister Hegseth whether the Donald Trump administration had properly anticipated the various military dynamics and retaliatory measures stemming from the war with Iran. In the process, the issue of exporting the THAAD asset deployed in Korea emerged as a key point of contention.
Minister Hegseth, regarding the movement of the U.S. Forces Korea THAAD asset, said, "I can assure you that all of this had already been perfectly considered," adding, "the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the civilian leadership, and the president reviewed every aspect thoroughly, and this was a process to pursue a very clear objective." The claim is that the U.S. military leadership and administration had long calculated and executed a plan to use U.S. Forces Korea asset to control the situation in the Middle East and build a defensive network.
Speculation about the transfer of THAAD equipment to the Middle East surfaced in earnest last month. U.S. Forces Korea Commander Xavier Brunson testified at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the 21st of last month that, while the THAAD system itself remains in Korea, "we are sending ammunition, and we are preparing for movement." At the time, Brunson's remarks were widely interpreted to mean that interceptor missiles, a key defensive weapon, were being redeployed to the Middle East, and Minister Hegseth's latest comments have effectively cemented the removal of that capability as a fait accompli.
As the Middle East war has stretched beyond 60 days, President Donald Trump has ratcheted up military pressure to the highest level, saying he will preemptively block a scenario in which Iran possesses nuclear weapons. Leaving the White House for a state visit to China on this day, Trump warned reporters, "Iran can do the right thing, or we will finish the job." If the United States concentrates its main strategy and firepower on the military clash with Iran, a strategic shift in the allocation of defense asset to allies, including the Korean Peninsula, appears unavoidable for the time being.