China urges withdrawal of US THAAD missile defense system in S.Korea

The US and South Korea agreed on the early deployment of a controversial US missile defense system in the region, the South’s acting president said on April 17, 2017 after talks with visiting US Vice President Mike Pence. (AFP /DoD/Ben Listerman)

Protesters and police stand by as trailers carrying US THAAD missile defence equipment enter a deployment site in Seongju. (AFP/YONHAP)

BEIJING: China said on Wednesday it had expressed serious concern to Washington and Seoul after the US military started moving parts of its controversial THAAD anti-missile defense system to a deployment site in South Korea.
Speaking at a daily news briefing in Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China urged the US and South Korea to withdraw the system.
Seoul and Washington say the sole purpose of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system is to defend against North Korean missiles, but China is concerned the system’s powerful radar can penetrate its territory and undermine its security and has repeatedly expressed opposition to it.