Moscow is planning to boost its missile defense capabilities, including on disputed isles off Hokkaido, by 2020, an internal Russian government document showed Sunday, in a move likely to hurt the two nations' efforts to step up talks on concluding a postwar peace treaty.
The plan indicates Russia places strategic importance on the islands in defending the Sea of Okhotsk and its nuclear force stronghold as well as countering the increasing U.S. military presence in the area to address a threat by North Korea.
Japan and Russia are looking to push ahead with peace treaty talks as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in November to accelerate negotiations.