China's top diplomat says hopes South Korea can resolve THAAD issue

China's State Councilor Yang Jiechi attends a joint news conference with Federica Mogherini (not pictured), High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China April 19, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee/Files

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, told a visiting South Korean envoy on Friday that he hoped South Korea could respect China's major interests and concerns and appropriately resolve differences over the THAAD missile system issue. Yang made the comments in a meeting with Seoul's envoy to China Lee Hae-chan, the official Xinhua news agency reported. China has been infuriated by the U.S. deployment of an advanced Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system in South Korea, saying it was a threat to its security and would do nothing to ease tension with North Korea. (Reporting by Michael Martina; Editing by Robert Birsel)