RIA
and TASS news agencies quoted Rudenko as saying that Russia's
defence ministry was investigating, but "so far we have no clear
information that the missile fell in Russia's economic zone".
The Hwasong-18 missile is the core of North Korea's nuclear
strike force and the test-fire was a "strong practical warning"
to the United States and other adversaries, the country's state
media said in reporting the launch.
The test was condemned by the United States, South Korea and
Japan, but Russia's Rudenko said it was a reaction to actions by
Washington and its allies which "actually provoke North Korea to
build up its defence power".
North Korea has been under United Nations sanctions for its
missile and nuclear programmes since 2006 but the U.N. Security
Council has been divided for the past several years on how to
deal with it. Russia and China, which both wield veto powers on
the council, have said more sanctions will not help and want
such measures to be eased.
U.N. Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari said on Thursday
that the latest North Korean missile flight lasted about 74
minutes and travelled over 1,000 km (625 miles). Khiari said it
crashed into the sea within Russia's exclusive economic zone but
close to Japanese waters.
(Reporting by Reuters; editing by David Evans)
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