Warning for US over missile plan
Print Edition
THE possible US deployment of a missile defense system on the Korean Peninsula in response to North Korea’s ballistic missile program would threaten China’s strategic interests, China said yesterday.
Washington and Seoul will begin talks about the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System (THAAD), they said a week ago following a surprise nuclear test and satellite launch by North Korea that raised fresh concerns about its weapons ambitions.
“We are firmly opposed to the relevant country’s attempts to damage China’s strategic and security interests, with the nuclear issue as an excuse,” foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a regular press briefing in Beijing. China was seriously concerned about the possible deployment of the THAAD system, he added.
He said it “covers a range that is far beyond the needs of defense of the Korean Peninsula.”
China argues that the THAAD deployment would trigger an arms race in the region.
The system fires anti-ballistic missiles into the sky to smash into enemy missiles either inside or outside the Earth’s atmosphere during the final phase of their flight.
The interceptor missiles carry no warheads, instead relying on kinetic energy to destroy their targets.
China summoned the South Korean ambassador in Beijing following the country’s announcement that it would begin talks with the United States, expected as early as this week.
“We will not allow our legitimate rights and national security interests to be damaged,” Hong said at the briefing.
China has long urged a resumption of talks over North Korea’s nuclear program, arguing that sanctions are not an end in themselves.
Washington says it will not sit down with Pyongyang until the country takes steps toward halting its nuclear program, a position that China argues has led to the current impasse.
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