MOSCOW, May 14 (Sputnik) – The Russian missile attack warning systems registered a launch of ballistic missile from the North Korean territory, however the launch has not posed any threat to Russia, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement Sunday.
On Sunday, at 5:28 a.m. local time (20:28 GMT on Saturday) Pyongyang launched an unidentified missile, presumably a ballistic one, in the vicinity of Kusong, North Pyongan Province. The rocket fell in the Sea of Japan after flying some 500 miles. The launch has already been criticized by a number of countries, including the United States.
“Russia’s missile attack warning systems detected a launch of a ballistic missile from the North Korean satellite at about 23:30 Moscow time on May 13. The ballistic target has been dwelled by the missile attack warning systems during a 23-minute flight before the missile fell in the central part of the Sea of Japan (some 500 kilometers [310 miles] from the Russian territory),” the statement said.
The statement added that the flight path of the missile was in direction from Russian borders, at a considerable distance and had posed no threat to Russia.