Defense chiefs plan to press on with THAAD

South Korea's defense chief and his new United States counterpart vowed on Tuesday to push ahead with a plan to deploy a US anti-missile system this year, Seoul's military said, despite angry protests by China.

The two allies last year announced the plan to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system following a series of atomic and missile tests by nuclear-armed North Korea.

New US Defense Secretary James Mattis and his South Korean counterpart Han Min-koo reaffirmed the plan in a phone conversation, Seoul's defense ministry said, days before Mattis visits Asia.