Republic of Korea Foreign Minister Kang Kyungwha reportedly told lawmakers on Monday that the country is not considering any additional deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system. She also reiterated that the ROK will not be part of the US-led missile defense networks.

Such remarks are valuable because they suggest Seoul has heeded Beijing's security concerns and is taking steps to get their strained relations back on track.

Kang's remarks follow other signs of a thaw in bilateral relations. On Tuesday the ROK's chief representative in the Six-Party Talks will meet his Chinese counterpart in Beijing, one week after the first talks in nearly two years were held between the two countries' defense chiefs at a security forum in the Philippines.