THAAD missile defense system now operational in S.Korea: US official

Columbia: A controversial US missile defense system whose deployment has angered China is now operational in South Korea, a US defense official said Monday.

"It has reached initial intercept capability," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Washington and Seoul agreed to the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery deployment in July in the wake of a string of North Korean missile tests.