MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that Japanese plans to deploy U.S. missile defense systems on its soil were disproportionate to the missile threat in the region.

The comments, made at a news briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, came a day after Moscow said it was seriously concerned that Japan might deploy the U.S. Aegis Ashore missile-defense system on its soil to counter possible missile threats from North Korea.

Zakharova, in the same briefing, called on Pyongyang to exercise restraint in the face of new U.S.-South Korean military exercise, saying the war games did not help de-escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula.