SINGAPORE (Sputnik) — North Korea’s nuclear ambition raises serious concern but it should not trigger an "excessive" military response, Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said Sunday.
"We have a serious concern about the developments in the Korean peninsula. Russia remains fully committed to non-proliferation regime and non-recognition of DPRK nuclear ambitions," Antonov said at the "IISS Shangri-La Dialogue" Asia Security Summit in Singapore.
He stressed that at the same time Russia was "strongly opposed to excessive military response to Pyongyang actions."
"We find it absolutely unacceptable to try to use North Korea's nuclear missile programs as a pretext to change military and political balance in the region," Antonov said.
Antonov referred to the US plans to deploy elements of the US global missile defense shield to the Asia-Pacific region. "Such short-sighted moves are fraught with grave consequences for regional stability," he added.
