This photo provided by the North Korean government shows what it says is the test-launch of Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile on April 13 at an undisclosed location in North Korea. Photo by Office of the North Korean government press service / UPI |
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July 15 (UPI) -- The Kremlin said Saturday is it checking into reports that a controversial intercontinental ballistic missile fired by North Korea this week landed in its territorial waters, official media reported.
Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said the Russian foreign and defense ministries are looking into reports that a Hwasong-18 solid-propellant ICBM launched by the North on Wednesday came down in Russia's exclusive economic zone in the Sea of Japan, the Russian state news agency TASS reported.
But, he added, nothing has been confirmed so far.
"As far as I know, my colleagues continue investigating this case together with the Defense Ministry but we have no clearly-expressed information so far that the missile fell in Russia's economic zone," Rudenko said.
Wednesday's ICBM launch, which was personally supervised by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, drew international condemnation and prompted an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council.
North Korea has been under UN sanctions for its missile and nuclear programs since 2006 and is banned from developing ballistic missile technology. Its Hwasong-18 ICBM is a new solid-fuel missile that analysts have said is more maneuverable and quicker to launch than the regime's liquid-fuel models.
U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey DeLaurentis read a joint statement from ten member states condemning "in the strongest possible terms" the North's ICBM launch.
"The Council cannot continue to be silent in the face of these provocations, and we must send a clear and collective signal to the DPRK -- and all proliferators -- that this behavior is unlawful, destabilizing, and will not be normalized," the statement said.
In a rare appearance before the Security Council, North Korean envoy Kim Song defended the launch, calling it an exercise in self-defense and blaming the United States and its allies for provoking tensions on the Peninsula.
Russia's Rudenko echoed those sentiments Saturday, calling the North's ICBM launch a response to "provocative" actions taken by the United States and its allies.
