(LEAD) FM meets Russian, Chinese counterparts in Munich

(ATTN: RECAST headline, lead; ADDS details throughout)

SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's foreign minister met Russian and Chinese counterparts on Saturday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference amid the controversy over the deployment of an advanced U.S. missile defense system on the Korean Peninsula.

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and discussed key issues between the two countries including economic cooperation. Yun also met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi separately.

Pundits said Yun is presumed to have also discussed the controversial deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system with his counterparts, and highlighted that the battery is only intended to protect the country from North Korea.

South Korea has been seeking to deploy the THAAD battery to better cope with North Korean provocations. Beijing and Moscow, however, have been expressing concern over the presence of the U.S. battery on the Korean Peninsula.

Yun is also expected to have expressed concern over China's recent curbs on Korean businesses and cultural products in an apparent retaliation against Seoul's missile shield plan.

colin@yna.co.kr
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