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By Park Si-soo
China said on Wednesday it had expressed serious concern to Washington and Seoul after the U.S. military started moving parts of its controversial THAAD anti-missile defence system to a deployment site in South Korea, according to Reuters.
Speaking at a daily news briefing in Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China urged the U.S. and South Korea to withdraw the system.
"We have already expressed our grave concerns to the South Korean and U.S. governments," the spokesman said. "The deployment of THAAD in South Korea would destroy the strategic balance and incite a further rise in the tensions."
"The Chinese side strongly urges the U.S. and South Korea to cancel the deployment and withdraw the equipment," the spokesman noted.
This comment came hours after U.S. troops in South Korea began THAAD installation at a designated site in a southeastern region of the country, facing fierce protests from local residents.
Seoul and Washington have said the deployment 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.
