Russia has warned the United States not to use North Korea’s nuclear-weapons program “as a pretext for changing the military-political balance in the region,” including by implementing U.S. plans to deploy missile-defense systems there.
Speaking at a security conference in Singapore on June 5, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said “it is very dangerous when one state is providing its own security at the expense of others.”
He said Russia is not opposed to missile defense in principle, but criticized the United States for not maintaining “dialogue on this issue.”
Antonov also criticized the overall security architecture in the Asia-Pacific Rim region.
“The current regional security system based mainly on a network of closed military alliances does not help create an atmosphere of trust and mutual understanding,” Antonov argued.