(VOVworld) - China's Foreign Ministry on Friday said it had expressed concern about a large-scale joint military exercise between South Korean and US troops that began this week.

South Korean-US warships in Foal Eagle 2016

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at present the situation on the Korean Peninsula is highly complex and sensitive. He said the concerned parties should earnestly do more to help ease the situation on the Korean Peninsula and ensure peace and stability in Northeast Asia. He repeated China's opposition to the deployment in South Korea of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system. The exercise, called Foal Eagle, involves ground, naval, and air forces and will end in late April.