South Korea Ruling Party Urges Opposition to Cancel China Visit

The visit planned by the six South Korean opposition lawmakers is an act that benefits China which objects to the THAAD deployment, according to a spokesman for the ruling South Korean Saenuri Party.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The ruling South Korean Saenuri Party urged opposition lawmakers on Saturday to cancel the upcoming visit to China aimed at discussing the deployment of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system to South Korea.

Six members of the opposition Minjoo Party of Korea are expected to pay a three-day visit to China next week.

"The visit planned by the six first-term lawmakers is an act that benefits China which objects to the THAAD deployment," spokesman for the Saenuri Party Ji Sang-wuk said as quoted by the Yonhap news agency, calling on the opposition to abstain from the trip.

In July, South Korea and the United States announced that they had agreed to deploy the system in the South Korean Seongju County to counter North Korea's missile threat. Thousands have rallied against the decision. The THAAD deployment has caused concerns in China and Russia.