South Korean Opposition Lawmakers to Discuss THAAD Deployment With Beijing

Eight South Korean lawmakers from the country’s main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), including presidential-hopeful Moon Jae-in, will visit China on Wednesday for a three-day visit in an attempt to ease tensions with Beijing over the planned deployment of US missile defense systems in South Korea, one of the delegates said on Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The South Korean lawmakers are expected to hold a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during their visit, Song Young-gil, a DPK member, said.

"We will tell Beijing that our presidential candidates including Moon are calling on the THAAD issue to be reconsidered in the next government. Plus, we will also discuss China's role in resolving icy relations between South and North Korea," Song was quoted as saying by the South China Morning Post newspaper.

The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, which South Korea agreed in 2016 to be deployed on its territory by the end of 2017 with the stated aim of countering threats from North Korea, serves as one of the main irritation factors in Beijing-Seoul ties.

China and Russia have repeatedly voiced opposition to the deployment of THAAD, arguing that its real aim was to deter the strategic weapon systems not only in the Korean peninsula’s North, but primarily in China's hinterlands and Russia's Far East regions.