Kremlin: Russia will respond to deployment of U.S. missile defense systems in South Korea
The deployment of the U.S. THAAD missile defense system near the Russian border may raise a question about Moscow’s military response, as stated by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov.
“If all this happens at such an alarming rate, it is inevitable that at some point, perhaps, the question will arise about our reaction in the military sense of the word, in the creation of some kind of counterbalance. I do not want to anticipate anything. But you can’t take this or that thing out of context,” said Ryabkov to reporters, commenting on the issue of THAAD missile defense system in South Korea.
The diplomat reminded the press that Moscow has always looked unfavorably on these plans.
“Systems for high-altitude interception of warheads in the descending arc of the trajectory, if I will be allowed to translate the abbreviation THAAD into Russian, are easily built into the missile defense system with greater range and more power, if desired. And these are all elements of the integrated U.S. missile defense system,” said Ryabkov.
As was reported, in connection with the launch of the intercontinental ballistic missile by North Korea, South Korea decided to deploy three additional installations of the U.S. THAAD missile defense system in their territory.