2nd LD Writethru: S.Korea, U.S. defense chiefs make no consultation on THAAD deployment

South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo said Friday that he did not make any consultations with the visiting U.S. defense chief Ashton Carter about the deployment of an advanced U.S. missile defense system, the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), on the Korean Peninsula during their talks.

"The U.S. government hasn't made any decision on the THAAD deployment, so no consultations were made," Han said at a joint press conference held after the bilateral dialogue with Carter who arrived Thursday in South Korea, the second leg of his first Asian tour since he took office in February.

Before coming to Seoul, Carter made a three-day visit to Japan, one of the two major U.S. allies in Asia along with South Korea.

"That wasn't on the agenda today," Carter also said, noting that the two countries are not at the point to discuss the deployment as the United States is in the process of producing the missile defense system.

Carter said that the time when the production of the THAAD system will be completed has yet to be decided, but he noted that the United States is trying to stay ahead of ballistic missile threats.

Ahead of Carter's visit, much attention had been paid to whether Carter and Han would discuss or mention the THAAD, which the United States has wanted to deploy on the Korean Peninsula to better defend against what it called the DPRK's nuclear and missile threats. Endi