Ministry repeats opposition to THAAD deployment in ROK

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying reiterated on Thursday China's opposition to the deployment of the THAAD anti-missile system in the Republic of Korea, saying that China will take necessary measures to safeguard its security interests.

Hua made the remarks in a daily news conference in Beijing after Michael Flynn, whom US president-elect Donald Trump has designated as his national security adviser, commented on the deployment, by the US, of the missile defense system.

Flynn was quoted by media outlets in the Republic of Korea as saying on Tuesday that the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system is the right decision and shows the firmness of the US-ROK alliance.

Hua reiterated that the deployment will seriously damage the regional strategic balance as well as strategic security interests of regional countries including China, and is against the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula.

"We again urge relevant parties to acknowledge China's reasonable concerns and stop the process of the deployment," Hua said.

Trump said during the US presidential election campaign that US allies, Japan and the ROK, should play a greater role in their own defense and suggested that he would be willing to withdraw US troops from the two countries.