[THE INVESTOR] The US THAAD missile defense system being installed in South Korea will become operational “in the coming days,” the US Pacific commander said on April 27.

Adm. Harry Harris, commander of the US Pacific Command, made the remark during a House Armed Services Committee hearing after the US military brought the radar and other equipment to the deployment site in southeastern South Korea earlier in the day.

“The ROK-US alliance decided last July to deploy THAAD, which will be operational in the coming days and able to better defend South Korea against the growing North Korea threat,” Harris said.

Seoul and Washington decided to place a THAAD unit in the South to bolster defenses against growing nuclear and missile threats from the North after Pyongyang carried out its fourth nuclear test in January 2016 and a long-range rocket launch the following month. A fifth nuclear test followed in September.

By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)