5 January 2017
China Hopes to Find Settlement with South Korea over THAAD Deployment
Sputnik News

Beijing hopes to resolve the THAAD deployment issue with South Korea through dialogue

Beijing (Sputnik) — China hopes to find a settlement with South Korea over the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile systems that will correlate with the positions of both countries, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Thursday.

"China repeatedly has raised concerns on THAAD and opposed the deployment … We hope that China and South Korea will find a solution through a dialogue and communications, that will take into account the concerns of both countries," Geng said at the press briefing.

The deployment of THAAD will ruin the strategic balance in the region as well as the strategic security of the regional countries, including China, the spokesman added.

On Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with the delegation of South Korean lawmakers from the biggest opposition Minjoo Party to discuss THAAD deployment.

THAAD anti-missile systems, which South Korea agreed in 2016 to be deployed on its territory by the end of 2017, with the stated aim of countering threats from North Korea, serve as one of the main irritants in Beijing-Seoul ties.

China and Russia have repeatedly showed their objection to the deployment of THAAD, arguing that their real aim was to deter the strategic weapon systems not only in the Korean peninsula’s North, but primarily in China's hinterlands and Russia's Far East regions.