China wary of Thaad in South Korea as Beijing unsure about missile system's capabilities – report

China's opposition to the deployment of a US anti-missile system, known as Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD), in South Korea could be raised in the upcoming meeting between Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

According to experts, Beijing is resistant to the installation in Seoul as it does not know if the US missile system, intended to protect South Korea from North Korean missiles, could track and counter China's nuclear programme.

Zhang Baohui, a Hong Kong-based expert on China's nuclear deterrent said: "It is clear that there is no one in China who really knows the technical capability of THAAD and that's part of the problem."

"THAAD's full capabilities are secret so there is a real knowledge gap among Chinese strategists. If they are misplaced, they are at least genuine in their concern - they have to assume a worst case scenario," Baohui said, according to Reuters.

Chinese officials also have raised concerns about the alleged 2,000km range of the X-band radars of the system.

Thaad's deployment also threatens to disrupt relations between South Korea and China.

Chinese officials have closed many Lotte retail stores in the mainland after the conglomerate made a deal with the South Korean government to give land for the installation of the defence system.

In February, board of directors of the conglomerate passed the proposal to provide its golf course in the southeastern rural county of Seongju for the deployment of the defence system in exchange for a state owned military site near Seoul.

Thaad is reportedly designed to intercept and destroy ballistic missiles late in flight. It has never been tested in a conflict before, Reuters reported.

Some Chinese experts say that the radar range could help the defence system cover missile and rocket launch sites deep in the northeast where People's Liberation Army (PLA) conducts tests of its long range weapons.

They also said that the radars would allow Washington to track tests, helping the country counter an attack by the Chinese.

Li Bin, a security expert at Beijing's Tsinghua University recently said that the Thaad radars would allow the United States military access data on missiles, which would undermine Beijing's nuclear strategy.

The nuclear deterrent of China is based on ensuring that it has a capability of "second strike" as China pledged to never use nuclear weapons first in a conflict.