The new South Korean ambassador to China, Kim Jang-soo, said Tuesday he will spare no efforts to forge close cooperation with China. Kim takes up the post at a time when tension between Seoul and Beijing is brewing over a possible deployment of an advanced U.S. missile defense system in South Korea.

Kim, a 67-year-old former defense minister who headed the National Security Council at the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae until May last year, made the comments upon his arrival at the Beijing airport earlier in the day.

The U.S. has said it is considering deploying the missile defense system, known as the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), in South Korea, home to about 28,500 American troops, to better cope with the growing threats of North Korea's nuclear and missile capabilities.

Arguing that the U.S. missile defense system could also target China, Beijing has publicly pressed Seoul to refuse to allow the THAAD battery to be deployed. On March 17, South Korea's defense ministry blamed China for trying to "influence" Seoul's security policy.

Asked about South Korea's direction of diplomacy between the U.S. and China, Kim replied, "By frequently making contact with China and the U.S., we should make efforts not to undermine our issues."

"In the middle of cooperation between the U.S. and China, we need to let our interests have a mutual synergy effect," Kim said, stopping short of mentioning sensitive issues between South Korea and China, including the U.S. missile defense system.

Kim became South Korea's first top diplomat to China with a military background since the two nations established diplomatic ties 23 years ago.

Since graduating from the Korea Military Academy in 1971, Kim had served in various capacities in the South Korean Army. He was the Army chief of staff in 2005 and the defense minister from 2007 to 2008.

President Park Geun-hye named Kim as her top national security adviser in early 2013. (Yonhap)