BEIJING (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, Yoo Jeh-seung, South Korean deputy minister for policy, said that South Korea and the United States had agreed to start talks on the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system.
"The Chinese side expresses its serious concern over this matter," the statement reads.
According to the statement, any country seeking to ensure its own safety, "cannot violate the interests of other countries in the field of security."
The United States has raised the possibility of a THAAD battery deployment in East Asia in the past, a decision the Pentagon has said would be made through the trilateral Japan-South Korea-US security alliance talks.
China and Russia have expressed opposition to the controversial defense system, arguing it could upset the regional balance and be used against Chinese interests.
