White House spokesman Sean Spicer on Wednesday defended the rapid deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery in South Korea.

"The deployment of a THAAD system is critical to their protection, as witnessed by this weekend's ballistic missile test" by North Korea, Spicer said. "We're continuing to work with the government of South Korea to make sure that they have the defenses necessary to protect themselves."

Spicer also downplayed tensions with China, which is furiously opposed to the deployment because it thinks the aim is to keep in check its rising military domination of the region.

"China and the United States in particular both understand the threat that North Korea poses to the region," Spicer said. "And I think that there's areas of concern that we can work together to protect the country."