Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko was quoted by state media as saying Moscow was investigating whether a North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile crashed into its waters during a test launch on Wednesday.
Russian news agency RIA and TASS news agency on Saturday quoted Rudenko as saying that the Defense Ministry was conducting an investigation, but "so far we do not have clear information about the missile falling in Russia's economic zone."
The Russian official said that the launches and military preparations carried out by Pyongyang are only a response to the provocations of Washington and its allies, noting that Moscow reiterates that Washington and its allies are in fact provoking Pyongyang and pushing it to strengthen its defenses.
On Friday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said there was no confirmed information so far about a North Korean missile landing in Russia's exclusive economic zone.
Zakharova's comments came in response to a U.N. statement that North Korea's missile launched on July 12 landed in Russia's exclusive economic zone and may be the longest ballistic missile launch.
Kim Jong-un personally supervised the successful test of the latest ballistic missile (Reuters)
Striking Force
North Korean media said in coverage of the launch that the Hwasong-18 missile was the core of North Korea's nuclear strike force, and that the test launch was a "strong practical warning" to the United States and other adversaries.
It added that leader Kim Jong Un "personally supervised the successful testing of the latest solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile."
The official Korean news agency reported that the ICBM, which has been launched only once before in April, flew 1001,6648 kilometers at a maximum altitude of <>,<> kilometers before falling into the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan.
The agency said the launch was "a massive explosion that shook the entire planet." Government media footage showed the missile launching into the sky.
Denunciation of the experiment
The United States, South Korea and Japan denounced the test, but Russian official Rudenko said it was a reaction to actions by Washington and its allies that "are already provoking North Korea to bolster its defensive strength."
North Korea has been under U.N. sanctions over its missile and nuclear programs since 2006, but the U.N. Security Council has been divided for several years over how to deal with it.
Russia and China, which have veto power in the council, say more sanctions will not work and want to ease them.