The deployment of an advanced U.S. missile-defense system in South Korea could seriously undermine Sino-Korean ties, a Chinese scholar warned Monday, echoing a chorus of concerns from Beijing officials.

In an op-ed published by the state-run Global Times newspaper, Li Kaisheng, research fellow at the Institute of International Relations of Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, also publicly admitted that China opposes deploying the U.S. missile-defense system in South Korea because it could hurt China's own security interests.

The U.S. has said it was considering deploying a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery in South Korea, home to about 28,500 American troops, to better cope with the growing threats of North Korea's nuclear and missile capabilities.

The THAAD battery is "nominally intended to counter North Korea, but insiders know, because its scope is about 2,000 kilometers, it far exceeds the defense needs of North Korean ballistic missiles," Li said.

If South Korea agrees to deploy the THAAD battery, Li said, "It will undermine the bottom line of the China-South Korea strategic partnership."

South Korea has officially disavowed its intention to join or host the THAAD battery, but South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo told a parliamentary audit in October that the possible deployment of the U.S. missile-defense system would help ensure the South's security posture.

China's concerns over a possible deployment of the THAAD battery in South Korea have illustrated how difficult it is for South Korea and China to develop common security interests in Northeast Asia.

South Korea and the U.S. urge China, the economic lifeline of North Korea, to do more in reining in North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, but China's stance over its ideological ally, Pyongyang, has often been self-contradictory.

Many analysts believe that China's Communist Party leadership won't put enough pressure on North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions because a sudden collapse of the North's regime could threaten China's own security interests. (Yonhap)