South Korea’s Park defends U.S. missile shield planJuly 21, 2016 - 12:09 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - South Korean President Park Geun-hye is defending her decision to deploy a U.S.-built missile defense system on the country's southeastern peninsula, as protests against the plan continue, the Voice of America reports. Chairing a meeting of the National Security Council Thursday, President Park said North Korea's growing ballistic missile capabilities left the government no choice but to deploy the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD, in Seongju county. The decision has sparked angry protests by residents in Seongju, fearing possible hazards to health and the environment from the radar-based system. Thousands of Seongju residents held a massive demonstration in Seoul Thursday. Park warned that opposition to over the plan to deploy the THAAD system could lead South Koreans "divided" and "confused," which could play right into North Korea's hands. North Korea launched three ballistic missiles from the western city of Hwangu early Tuesday that flew between 500 and 600 kilometers before falling into the sea off the east coast of the Korean peninsula. The missile launches came a week after Pyongyang threatened to retaliate against Seoul over the deployment of the THAAD system. Related links: Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |