US: China need not fear missile defence

China has no need to be worried about US plans to deploy a new anti-missile system in South Korea to protect it from North Korea, a senior US diplomat said on a visit to Beijing, adding North Korea had shown no interest in diplomacy.

The United States and South Korea have begun talks on possible deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system after North Korea tested its fourth nuclear bomb on January 6 and launched a long-range rocket on February 7, both in defiance of UN resolutions, but China firmly opposes the move.

“The fact is that North Korea presents a very serious missile threat to the Korean peninsula,” Sung Kim, the US special envoy for North Korea, told reporters.

“And we, together with South Korea, have decided that we should take appropriate defensive measures to protect ourselves against this missile threat from North Korea.”