A Harpoon missile is launched from US Navy destroyer USS Fitzgerald in a live fire test near Guam. (Photo: AFP/ VNA)

Defense Ministry spokesperson Choi Hyun-soo told a press briefing that South Korea held no official discussion with the US about the introduction of intermediate-range missiles, nor did it review the matter internally or plan to do so. Ms. Choi said there has been no change in the South Korean government's basic stance on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

On whether the deployment issue would be discussed during the meeting in Seoul on Friday between US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo, the spokesperson said she was told that the issue was not on the agenda.