China conducted a test of a ground-based interceptor missile system, in a procedure it described as defensive and not targeting any country.

China is stepping up research into all kinds of missiles, from those that can destroy satellites in space to advanced ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads, as part of an ambitious modernization plan under President Xi Jinping.

China, along with its ally Russia, has repeatedly expressed their opposition to the US deployment of the THAAD air defense missile system in South Korea.