Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. Yonhap: US Begins Moving THAAD Missile Defense Into South Korea Site by Reuters SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA -- The U.S. military has started moving parts of the controversial THAAD anti-missile defense system into a planned deployment site in South Korea, Yonhap news agency reported on Wednesday, amid high tensions over North Korea's missile and nuclear programs. The United States and South Korea have agreed to deploy THAAD in response to the threat of missile launches by North Korea but China says it will do little to deter the North while destabilizing the regional security balance. South Korean protesters stage a rally to oppose a plan to deploy an advanced U.S. missile defense system called Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, in front of the Defense Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Feb. 28, 2017. Trailer trucks carrying parts of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system entered the site on what had been a golf course in the county of Seongju in a southern region of South Korea, Yonhap news agency and YTN television reported. South Korean defense ministry officials and U.S. military officials could not immediately be reached for confirmation. The United States began moving the first elements of the advanced missile defense system into South Korea in early March after the North test-launched four ballistic missiles. But the U.S. and South Korean militaries have been reluctant to publicly discuss the progress of the deployment as candidates in a May 9 presidential election debated whether the move should go ahead or be delayed until after the vote. South Korea has said China has discriminated against some South Korean companies in retaliation against the deployment. Visitors watch the North Korea side from the unification observatory in Paju, South Korea, April 25, 2017.