South Korea allowed the United States to install the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defence system on its soil this year, triggering angry rhetoric and economic retaliation from China which views THAAD's powerful radar as a threat to its own security. South Korea and the United States have repeatedly said the system is only aimed at defending against North Korea's advancing nuclear threats, rather than peering into Chinese territory.
The ministry statement said Beijing reaffirmed its opposition to THAAD and asked South Korea to handle "relevant issues appropriately" while South Korea reiterated the system doesn't target China. It said military officials of the two countries will discuss Chinese worries about the THAAD system.
Seoul's presidential office announced separately that President Moon Jae-in and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold summit talks next week on the sidelines of an annual regional forum in Vietnam. It would be their second one-on-one meeting since Moon's inauguration in May.
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Lu Chao, a Korea expert at Liaoning Social Sciences Academy, said the Xi-Moon summit could set the stage for more hi-level talks, including by military officials.
Today's announcements by the two countries came after Xi consolidated his already considerable power at a twice-a- decade Communist Party congress that concluded last week.
Many analysts say China appeared to use its THAAD opposition to bolster its regional clout but that such a stance could push South Korea closer to the US and Japan for a potential anti-Beijing trilateral alliance.
In South Korea, there have been growing worries about frosty ties with China, which is its largest trading partner and some South Koreans say might one day replace the United States as the world's sole superpower.
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