SEOUL Nike Air Max 97 Ultra Scontate , Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's defense ministry saidWednesday that the remaining elements of the U.S. Terminal HighAltitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile interception system would bedeployed to the site in southeast of the country on Thursday.


The ministry said in a statement that the remaining THAADlaunchers would be installed together with construction equipmentand materials of the U.S. side within Thursday.


On April 26, two mobile launchers and other THAAD elements weretransported in the middle of night to a former course at Soseong-rivillage in Seongju county, North Gyeongsang province.


A THAAD battery, which Seoul and Washington agreed in July lastyear to deploy, is composed of six launchers, 48 interceptors, theANTPY-2 radar and the fire and control unit.


In addition to the four remaining launchers, the power-supplyingequipment and an equipment linking the fire and control unit to theradar would reportedly be delivered to the site early onThursday.


Residents and peace activists, who have blocked the entrance tothe former golf course, said the transportation would be conductedat about 2 a.m. local time (1700 GMT Wednesday), citingunidentified sources from the military, the police and the localmedia.


If those equipment and launchers are transported to the site,the THAAD battery, which would be operated by the U.S. Forces Korea(USFK), would get into a full operation.


The defense ministry said the further deployment was aimed totackle the growing nuclear and missile threats from the DemocraticPeople's Republic of Korea (DPRK).


On Sunday, the DPRK detonated what it claimed was a hydrogenbomb warhead that can be loaded onto a ballistic missile withintercontinental capability.


South Korean President Moon Jae-in ordered the temporaryinstallation of four more THAAD launchers to the site, afterPyongyang's test in late July of what it called an intercontinentalballistic missile (ICBM), dubbed by the DPRK as Hwasong-14.


The DPRK's ICBM, however, is not a direct threat to South Koreaas an ICBM refers to a ballistic missile with a range of at least5,500 km.


The THAAD battery in South Korea cannot protect from the DPRK'smissile attacks as DPRK missiles and artillery shells targetingSouth Korea fly at an altitude of less than 40 km. THAAD isdesigned to intercept incoming missiles at an altitude of 40-150km.


Neighboring countries, including China and Russia, have stronglyopposed the THAAD deployment in South Korea as its X-band radar canpeer deep into their territories, breaking regional strategicbalance and damaging security interests of the two countries.


Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang reiteratedWednesday that China demanded an immediate stop to deployment ofthe THAAD in South Korea.


Earlier this week, South Korea's environment ministry granted a"conditional" green light to a small-scale assessment ofenvironmental impact on the THAAD deployment site, opening the wayto deploy the remaining elements of the U.S. missile shield.


A "general" green audit would be conducted on about 700,000square meters of land inside the former golf course, which theSouth Korean military had originally planned to offer to the USFKfor the THAAD operation.


The land provision was divided into two phases, and less than330,000 square meters of land was first provided to avoid thegeneral green audit.


Anti-THAAD protesters have demanded a "strategic" green audit,which requires the removal of the THAAD battery and the feasibilitystudy on the deployment before launching the general environmentalevaluation.


Hundreds of residents and peace activists gathered beside theentrance to the THAAD site at Soseong-ri village to blockadditional THAAD elements and construction equipment from beingmoved to the site.


About 8,000 policemen were reportedly mobilized to help the USFKtroops transport the remaining THAAD elements to the site.