Updated: July 14, 6 p.m. Korea time – The original Chinese editorial posted on Huanqiu was deleted sometime Thursday afternoon. But the story had already been reported on by other South Korean media outlets.

China’s state-run media on Thursday published an opinion piece calling for harsh economic sanctions on the South Korean county that was recently designated as the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system deployment site.

The editorial also warned possible changes might follow in China’s sanctions policy against North Korea, claiming the deployment alters regional stability.

“Prepare for sanctions on Seongju County, and aim at THAAD with missiles,” the title of opinion posted on