Report: China bans charter flights to South Korea amid conflict over THAAD

SEOUL, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- China may be moderating the number of South Korea-bound tourists, as Seoul and Beijing remain at odds over the deployment of a U.S. missile defense system on the peninsula.

According to South Korean news agency Yonhap on Friday, Beijing abruptly banned all Korea-bound charter flights from China for January, a peak travel season in the country.

Concern has been growing in Seoul over Chinese retaliation for a joint U.S.-South Korea decision to deploy THAAD.

Companies like Samsung and LG have experienced delays in standard business procedures in China, and since October South Korean musical artists have not been granted permission to hold concerts in the country.

In South Korea, the recent travel ban is being interpreted as yet another sign Beijing is placing pressure on Seoul for the planned deployment.

China has been vocal about its opposition to THAAD. Beijing says the system's powerful radar could be used for surveillance.

But the United States and South Korea maintain THAAD is for defense purposes against North Korea missile provocations.

Chinese tourism has been vital for Korea's retailers, who have struggled with a slowing domestic economy, but have gained much from Chinese spending on popular consumer products like cosmetics and apparel.

But a China-based travel specialist told Yonhap on Friday applications for eight charter flight routes from three Korean airline companies were declined.

The decision has forced Chinese travel agencies to scramble to find alternate flights or refund their customers for the last-minute changes, according to Yonhap.

China's civil aviation administration has not provided an explanation for turning down applications for charter flights, but some Chinese travel agencies have cited bird flu in Korea as a possible cause for the rejections.