South Korea Complains to WTO About Chinese Response to THAAD Deployment

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system was deployed to South Korea earlier this month, allegedly to protect it against North Korea’s ballistic missile tests. Beijing regards the system as a security threat, saying its radar can be used to track its own missile launches.

"The South Korean government appealed to the WTO service council to determine if Chinese measures on South Korean tourism and retail businesses conflicts with WTO regulations," Joo Hyung-hwan said in parliament, as quoted by the national news agency Yonhap.

South Korea has linked a series of economic limitations Beijing imposed on Korean business since the start of this year to the missile row. Most recently, Beijing banned Chinese group tour sales to the country and closed several South Korean retail stores on its territory. The Chinese authorities have denied any connection of the measures to the THAAD deployment.