Global Times: China urged South Korea to immediately stop the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), suggesting the latter to stop moving further on a wrong path.
China has repeatedly voiced its opposition to THAAD deployment, and “We urge parties concerned to stop THAAD deployment, and refrain from going too far on the wrong track,” foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said at a daily briefing on Thursday.
Geng made the remarks after South Korea reaffirmed its position on Thursday to deploy the US missile defense system on its soil as planned, despite strong opposition from neighboring countries.
Seoul’s foreign ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck told a press briefing that the THAAD deployment in South Korea is a sovereign and self-defensive act to protect people’s safety and the country’s security from North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
His comments came a day after seven lawmakers of the biggest opposition Minjoo Party arrived in Beijing to talk with senior Chinese officials about the THAAD installation.
The main opposition party has opposed the US anti-missile system’s deployment. Major presidential contenders of the party pledged to review the THAAD deployment decision, calling for the current government to fully stop the deployment process and leave it to the next government.
