SEOUL, July 11. /TASS/. The decision to deploy US missile defense system in the south of the Korean Peninsula is a measure of defense from North Korea’s nuclear and missile threat, South Korean Foreign Minister Yung Byung-se said on Monday.

"North Korea is improving its nuclear and missile capabilities and publicly states its intention to deliver a nuclear strike (at South Korea). Against this backdrop, the decision to deploy THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) is a measure of defense aimed at protecting our national security and the lives of citizens," Yung told a meeting with the country’s National Assembly.

He noted that "the government will take every possible step to counter nuclear and missile threat" from North Korea.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry announced last week that Seoul and Washington agreed to deploy THAAD in South Korea to counter the threat from North Korea. Russia and China have spoken against the deployment of US missile defense system in South Korea. "Such actions, no matter how they are explained, very negatively affect global strategic security, adherence to which is so often discussed by Washington. They may also result in escalation of tensions in the region, new difficulties for resolving acute problems of the Korean Peninsula, including the task of its denuclearization," Russian Foreign Ministry said last Friday.