Russia Protests S Korea's, Japan's Integration Into US Global Missile Defense

Moscow cannot accept South Korea's and potentially Japan's integration into the US global missile defense system, Russia's deputy foreign minister said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia sees South Korea's and potentially Japan's operation of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) as unacceptable, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov said Monday.

"For Russia, it is unacceptable to connect South Korea and in the future perhaps Japan to the US global missile defense system," Morgulov said at a conference on bilateral Russia-China ties.

The North Korean crisis is aggravated by the deployment of the US THAAD air defense system in South Korea.

The THAAD agreement was reached by Seoul and Washington in July 2016. The move came amid growing tensions spurred by North Korea's recurring ballistic and nuclear missile tests.

The THAAD system has a range of some 200 kilometers (125 miles) and is designed to intercept short, medium and intermediate ballistic missiles at the terminal incoming stage. The move to deploy it in South Korea has been criticized by neighboring China and Russia as inappropriate, possibly disproportionate, and affecting other countries' interests.

According to the South Korean Defense Ministry, the system is expected to be completely installed by the end of the year, while a number of its functions are already operating.