US Missile Defense Systems in S. Korea Could Spark Asian Arms Race

Moscow (PNA/Sputnik) -– Moscow believes that the possible deployment of U.S. missile defense systems in South Korea could spark an arms race and hamper negotiations on North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Tuesday.

“[We] have paid attention to the developing discussion in Seoul of the possible deployment of the American THAAD missile defense systems in the country, which is in the background of the U.S. Armed Forces investigating areas of the possible deployment of THAAD regiments in a number of provinces in the Republic of Korea,” the Foreign Ministry said.

The ministry expressed its concern that the expansion of U.S. defense missile systems in South Korea could spark an arms race in Asia and complicate negotiations with North Korea in regard to its nuclear capabilities.

“In a region that is characterized with a truly complex situation in the area of security, one more ‘thorn’ could appear that could prompt an arms race in northeastern Asia and further complicate the solution of the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula,” the statement reads. (PNA/Sputnik) JBP/SSC