The Russian General Staff stated Tuesday that the missile defense system deployed by the US provoke new arms race.

According to Deputy Chief the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff Viktor Poznikhir, the deployment destroys international security systems, adding that the US wants to gain control by deterring Russia and China.

“Ballistic missile defense is a symbol for building the capacity of missile assets in the world and thereby provoking a new arms race,” Poznikhir said at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.

In July 2016, Washington and Seoul reached an agreement on placing a US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system on South Korean soil. In early March, the THAAD deployment began in response to North Korea’s ballistic missile tests.

The system is designed to intercept short, medium and intermediate ballistic missiles at the terminal incoming stage.

A THAAD battery consists of six truck-mounted launchers, 48 interceptors, a mobile control and communications center and an AN/TPY-2 radar.

Earlier head of the Russian Foreign Ministry Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control Mikhail Ulyanov stated that Russia and China are increasing security cooperation amid the deployment of US missile defense system in South Korea.

Source: Sputnik