▲ This photo shows a launch vehicle of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system stationed at a U.S. military base in Seongju, some 235 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on March 10, 2026. (Yonhap)

Pentagon official-THAAD

Pentagon official calls U.S. 'flexibility' to meet urgent needs a 'strength' amid THAAD redeployment concerns

WASHINGTON, March 17 (Yonhap) -- A senior Pentagon official said Tuesday "flexibility" in redeploying military assets to meet urgent needs across the world is a "tremendous" strength of a U.S. defense system, while commenting on concerns about the reported movement of a South Korea-based missile defense asset to the Middle East.

Michael Duffey, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, made the remarks during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, after The Washington Post reported last week that the Pentagon was moving parts of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system to the Middle East amid the war with Iran.

"I think our flexibility and our ability to redeploy assets to ensure that they meet the most poignant and urgent need across the globe is a tremendous strength of our system," he said.

Duffey was responding to a question from Rep. Ami Bera (D-CA) about how long the U.S. plans to redeploy the THAAD asset to the Middle East.

The official said that he cannot speak to the duration of any particular redeployment of a military asset.

But he reiterated the United States' commitment to the Seoul-Washington alliance.

"I think there is a full commitment for us to maintain that alliance with South Korea and provide whatever capability that we can," he said.

During the hearing, Bera expressed concerns over the reported THAAD redeployment, citing North Korea's military threats and pointing out that South Korea went through a difficult period due to China's opposition to its hosting of the THAAD battery.

"Our friends and allies in South Korea paid a real price for it because China did use their economic coercive tools to directly impact the South Korean economy, which they are still struggling to recover from," Bera said.

"I do have real concerns at a time where we still see North Korea saber-rattling."

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