The U.S. and Korea have postponed negotiations on the stationing of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense batteries here.

The likely reason is that they need to get China on board for a UN resolution against North Korea, and Beijing is nervous about the anti-missile batteries, especially the attached long-range radar.

The Defense Ministry had scheduled a press conference at 11 a.m. Tuesday to announce the launch of formal talks but canceled it with about an hour to go saying the final details must be ironed out.

Lt. Gen. Thomas Vandal, commander of the U.S. Eighth Army, visited the Defense Ministry at around 5 p.m. and said talks between the U.S. Force Korea and Washington have not been completed yet and that the launch of negotiations with Seoul could be delayed by more than a day.

The U.S. may have decided that it could be a bad move to alienate Beijing just as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was meeting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington.

Critics say the delay dents Seoul's claim that the deployment of the missile batteries is designed solely to defend South Korea against a North Korean attack.

After formally announcing the start of THAAD talks on Feb. 7, when the North launched its space rocket, the Defense Ministry said Seoul will not be swayed by neighboring countries.

Park Won-gon at Handong Global University said, "The postponement of the negotiations may have been designed to allow Beijing to save face, but this could lead to criticism that the weapons system is targeting China."