A part of the THAAD system

The United States Military has confirmed that the Terminal High Attitude Area Defense (THAAD) system is already operational in South Korea.

In a statement signed by Colonel Richard Manning on Monday, US forces in Korea said the anti-missile system is capable of intercepting North Korean missiles and defend the Korean Republic.

The disclosure is coming barely a week after the US began the installation of the THAAD system at a former golf course in Seongju District, about 200km southeast of Seoul.

The deployment of the system is based on an  agreement between the US and South Korea in July 2016, after North Korea conducted a series of missile tests which the international community considered to be a breach of United Nations Security Council resolutions.