The United States is prepared to hold sincere discussions with South Korea if it determines it is necessary to deploy a THAAD missile defense battery to the Asian nation, U.S. officials were quoted as saying Thursday.
  

U.S. Defense Department officials made the remark when they met with a group of South Korean lawmakers visiting Washington, stressing there have been no formal consultations on the issue between the two countries so far, according to the lawmakers.
  

"It appears that the U.S. is taking a very cautious position," one lawmaker said.
  

The possibility of a THAAD deployment has become one of the most hotly debated defense and political issues in South Korea. Supporters say the deployment would help better protect against North Korea's ballistic missile threats, and opponents claim it would inflame tensions with China and Russia.
  

China has increased pressure on Seoul to reject a THAAD deployment. Earlier this week, Chinese Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Liu Jianchao said in Seoul that the South should take China's "concerns and worries" into consideration when making a decision on the issue.
  

According to the lawmakers, U.S. officials wonder why China is interfering in the issue, echoing remarks by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel in Seoul earlier this week that he finds it "curious that a third country would presume to make strong representations about a security system that has not been put in place and that is still a matter of theory." (Yonhap)