China could increase its nuclear warheads if an advanced U.S. missile-defense system is deployed in South Korea, a Chinese scholar warned.

Teng Jianqun, a senior researcher at the state-run China Institute of International Studies, has also said the possible deployment of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system to South Korea has become a "tough choice" for how Seoul is balancing bilateral ties with Washington and Beijing.

China's concerns over the possible deployment of the THAAD battery to South Korea have been known, but the warning by Teng took a more caustic and stark tone.

"The possible deployment of the U.S. THAAD system in South Korea will test relationships among China, South Korea, the United States, or even Russia," Teng said in his English-language report dated April 1 and recently posted on the Chinese institute's website.

"It is not simply a military project for the sake of South Korean and U.S. security," Teng said. "If necessary, China will take some solid measures to counter the power of the U.S. missile defense program, including updating and increasing the number of its conventional and nuclear warheads."

To better cope with the growing threats of North Korea's nuclear and missile capabilities, both South Korean and U.S. officials have indicated the need for the THAAD battery.

Arguing that the U.S. missile-defense system could also target China, Beijing has publicly pressed Seoul not to accept the THAAD battery. In return, South Korea's defense ministry has blamed China for trying to "influence" Seoul's security policy.

Last October, South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo told lawmakers that deploying a THAAD battery at a U.S. military base in South Korea would help defend against North Korea's missile and nuclear threats. South Korea is home to about 28,500 American troops.

"South Korea used to be very cautious toward the U.S. proposal but today has become more flexible to the possibility in consideration of geopolitics, the economy and the security relationship," Teng said.

"Sandwiched between the two major powers in this region, South Korea has to make a tough choice over the deployment of THAAD in the near future," the Chinese scholar said.

South Korea and the U.S. have called for China, the economic lifeline of North Korea, to do more in reining in North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, but China's stance over its ideological ally, Pyongyang, has often been self-contradictory.

Many analysts believe that China's ruling Communist Party leadership won't put enough pressure on North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions because a sudden collapse of the North's regime could threaten China's own security interests. (Yonhap)