(LEAD) S. Korea, U.S. reaffirm THAAD deployment in national security advisers' phone talks

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SEOUL, March 1 (Yonhap) -- The national security advisers of South Korea and the United States held their first phone conversation Wednesday and pledged to carry out the deployment of a U.S. missile defense system here as planned, the presidential office said.

Kim Kwan-jin, chief of South Korea's National Security Office, and H.R. McMaster, the Trump administration's national security adviser, agreed to respond firmly to North Korea's military provocations during their talks that lasted for 30 minutes, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said in a press release.

"The two sides reconfirmed the need to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery in order to counter the North's nuclear and missile threats and agreed to push ahead with the plan without setbacks," it said.

The talks came one day after the Seoul government signed a land-swap deal with the country's retail giant Lotte Group to secure the site for the missile defense battery.

McMaster said he puts priority on strengthening the alliance between the two countries, according to the presidential office. He was appointed last week after Mike Flynn, Trump's first national security adviser, resigned for having inappropriate contact with Russia's ambassador.

Kim will visit the U.S. in the near future to have face-to-face talks with McMaster, it said.

This file photo taken on Jan. 8, 2017, shows National Security Office chief Kim Kwan-jin (L, front) arriving in Washington to meet with senior officials of the President Donald Trump administration to discuss a wide range of security issues, including North Korea's nuclear and missile programs. (Yonhap)

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