(LEAD) China FM renews opposition to U.S. shield in S. Korea

(ATTN: UPDATES with press conference)

BEIJING, March 11 (Yonhap) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday renewed Beijing's opposition to the possible deployment of an advanced U.S. missile defense system in South Korea.

Speaking to a press conference in Moscow after talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also in the capital, Wang cited the long range of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery as China's concerns for its own security interests being undermined. The press conference was broadcast by Chinese media.

Wang also said China will not accept North Korea as a nuclear weapons state.

North Korea has been slapped with a fresh round of U.N. sanctions for its fourth nuclear test and launch of a long-range rocket this year.

Recently, North Korea has issued daily threats of nuclear strikes against South Korea and the United States at a time when Seoul and Washington have been conducting joint military drills.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered his country to conduct more nuclear tests, according to the North's state media on Friday.

kdh@yna.co.kr
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