South Korea presidential front runner adviser says Seoul paying for THAAD "impossible option"

A top foreign policy adviser to South Korean presidential front runner Moon Jae-in said on Friday that U.S. President Donald Trump's suggestion Seoul pay for the THAAD advanced U.S. missile defense system would be an "impossible option".

In an exclusive interview, Trump told Reuters on Thursday that he wants South Korea to pay for the $1 billion Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system.

"Even if we purchase THAAD, its main operation would be in the hands of the United States," said Kim Ki-jung, a foreign policy adviser to Moon and professor at Seoul's Yonsei University.

"So purchasing it would be an impossible option. That was our topic when we were considering the options,"

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)