Seoul's defense ministry said Friday that it has no plan to hold talks with China over an advanced US missile defense system deployed in South Korea.

A local media outlet reported that China has officially asked South Korea to open military talks at an early date over the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system. China has vehemently opposed it, saying that the move hurts its security interest.

"There is no plan for such talks," Moon Sang-gyun, spokesman at the Ministry of National Defense, told a briefing.

South Korea and China announced an agreement on Oct. 31 to mend ties after more than a year of frayed diplomatic relations over the deployment.


Despite the agreement, the dispute over the THAAD has not been fully resolved as China calls on the South to take "practical" actions to address its concerns.

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha told lawmakers on Oct. 30 that South Korea is not considering any additional installation of THAAD and that it won't join the US-led missile defense networks. It also does not want to enter a three-way security alliance with Washington and Tokyo, she said.

Moon also dismissed a local report that China has requested Seoul set up a shield against a radar of the THAAD pointing to China. Beijing has claimed that the radar could spy on its military facilities and harm its security interests.

The report also said that China has demanded South Korea give a technical explanation on THAAD and allow Beijing to conduct an on-site survey on the southern county of Seongju, where the system is located.

The foreign ministry also rejected the report as "groundless," saying that China has made no such request during the latest meeting of top diplomats of Seoul and Beijing.

Kang held talks with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Wednesday in Beijing to discuss plans for a summit between their leaders in December.

"Under the October agreement, the two sides decided to continue communication over the THAAD issue through military channels," the ministry said.

A ministry official, who attended the foreign ministers' meeting in Beijing, told reporters that it is "clear" that the two countries have differences in their perception of THAAD-related issues.

"We clearly told the way we see them (during the talks), while the Chinese side also told its own views," the official said.

He added that both countries have a strong will to "faithfully" carry out what was agreed in the Oct. 31 deal and that China is also making efforts to bring bilateral ties back to normal.

He repeated the government stance that the THAAD system is aimed at countering the North's nuclear and missile threats.

Asked if China's ultimate objective is to have the THAAD system withdrawn from the peninsula, though the armament can stay as long as the North's nuclear threat does not disappear, he answered, "It could be interpreted that way."

The official declined to go into details whether the THAAD issue will be among the agenda items to be discussed between the leaders of the two countries in a summit next month, saying that it is part of things that need to be fine-tuned. (Yonhap)