Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system after arriving in South Korea on March 6. The U.S. military deployed the system in response to North Korean missile threats. Source: U.S. Defense Department

The first THAAD components arrived at the Osan Air Base in South Korea last week. Wang said Beijing had measures in place to neutralise THAAD's radars. "We will complete our deployment before THAAD begins operations. There is no need to wait for two months [before the election of the next South Korean president]," he said on the sidelines of the political sessions in Beijing. "We already have such equipment in place. We just have to move it to the right spot." Yue Gang, a military commentator and former People's Liberation Army colonel, said China could either destroy THAAD or neutralise it. "Destroying [THAAD] should only be an option during wartime," Yue said. But China could interfere with the system's functions through electromagnetic technology, he said.