The threat of development and tests of ballistic missiles in Iran and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is real and growing, Henry Obering, chief of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA), said at a seminar on Czech-U.S. cooperation in missile defense on Wednesday.
Obering said Iran would be able to develop a ballistic missile that could hit Europe and the United States in 2015.
He said the construction of the missile defense shield must start already now so that the growing missile threat from Iran maybe faced in time.
Transatlantic security was indivisible. If Europe is not safe, the United States is not safe either, he said.
The Unites States has made progress in the talks on NATO's involvement in the missile defense system, He added.
On the other hand, the talks with Russia have showed no progress, he indicated.
According to Obering, the talks with the Czech government had gone farther than those with Poland that have slowed down.
The reason is the creation of a new Polish government and its demands for security guarantees.
The United States initiated the plan to deploy an anti-missile radar base in the Czech Republic and a missile interceptor base in Poland.
Negotiations between the Czech Republic and the United States on the radar project are still underway, while the former is expected to give its final decision later this year.
Russia has expressed its strong objections to the U.S. missile defense program in Poland and the Czech Republic, citing its own security.
Some 70 percent of Czechs reject the planned U.S. radar base in their country, according to the latest survey conducted by the CVVM polling institute.
Source: Xinhua
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