|
SEOUL, Sept. 4-- South Korea's environment ministry on Monday granted a conditional green light to the initial assessment of an environmental impact on the site of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), allowing construction works at the site and even the attempt to deploy four more launchers. Vice Environment Minister Ahn Byung-ok told a press briefing that the ministry notified the defense ministry of its conditional approval to the small-scale green audit, which was launched from late last year under the previous Park Geun-hye government. The environment ministry review reached a conclusion that the U.S. missile shield would have a slight influence on human body and environment, but it attached conditions to the approval to help residents accept the deployment decision and increase transparency. The environmental damage was one of the reasons residents and peace activists have opposed the THAAD installation at the former golf course in Seongju county, North Gyeongsang province. The attached conditions include the regular measurement of electromagnetic wave, the permission of residents or experts recommended by the residents to participate in the measurement and the real-time disclosure of the result from the measurement. It remained uncertain whether the residents and peace activists, who have blocked the entrance to the golf course in the country's southeastern region and have held anti-THAAD rally every night for over a year, would accept the small-scale environmental evaluation result. | 
