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[Anchor] Analysts say the U.S. is spending roughly 1.5 trillion KRW (about $1.125 billion) a day on the war with Iran. That outlay, coupled with depleted munitions stocks that have led to THAAD interceptors being diverted from the Korean Peninsula to the Middle East, is fueling concerns that gaps in U.S. forces could unsettle the security balance in Asia. Reporter Oh Joo-hyun has the details. [Reporter] Tomahawk cruise missiles launch from a U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer. Each missile costs more than 5 billion KRW (about $3.75 million), and the U.S. has fired more than 1,000 of them since the Iran conflict began. Analysts estimate total U.S. war spending so far between $28 billion and $35 billion, which averages roughly 1.5 trillion KRW (about $1.125 billion) per day. The U.S. think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) estimates the missiles expended in the Iran conflict represent about 27% of the U.S. Tomahawk inventory, two-thirds of Patriot interceptors and more than 80% of THAAD interceptors. The Wall Street Journal, citing U.S. officials, reported it could take as long as six years to rebuild the expended missile stocks. Concerns are growing about a resulting security gap from depleted U.S. weapons inventories. At a recent Senate hearing, Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, said the THAAD system itself remains on the peninsula, but its interceptors have been sent to the Middle East. “We have not moved the THAAD system. So THAAD still remains on the peninsula. Right now, we are sending munitions…,” he said (local time on the 21st). The New York Times noted that with U.S. defenses concentrated in the Middle East, forces stationed in Asia have taken the biggest hit. The Pentagon is reportedly discussing adjustments to existing operational plans that prepare for a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan. The astronomical costs and munitions poured into suppressing the Middle East fighting are now coming back as a security boomerang, weakening deterrence across Asia. This is Oh Joo-hyun for Yonhap News TV. [Video edit: Lee Ye-rim] [Graphics: Lee Eun-byeol] Yonhap News TV inquiries and tips: KakaoTalk/Line jebo23 Oh Joo-hyun (viva5@yna.co.kr)
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