Just In: China urges withdrawal of U.S. THAAD missile defense system in South Korea

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 defense system to a deployment site in South Korea.

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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.

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.