UNITED NATIONS, United States (REUTERS) - China on Saturday (Aug 5) called for a halt to the deployment of the Thaad US anti-missile defence system in South Korea and for relevant equipment to be dismantled, China's UN Ambassador Liu Jieyi told the UN Security Council.

"The deployment of the Thaad system will not bring a solution to the issue of (North Korea's) nuclear testing and missile launches," Liu told the council after it imposed new sanctions on North Korea over two long-range missile launches.

He also urged North Korea to "cease taking actions that might further escalate tensions."