"Firstly, we tracked these launches with our technical devices," Sergei Ivanov said. "Secondly, these launches did not harm Russia's security."
North Korea officially announced Wednesday that it had conducted test launches of ballistic missiles and claimed it was the country's sovereign right. The communist nation launched the missiles, including a long-range Taepodong-2, despite a seven-year moratorium on missile tests.
Ivanov said such moves without any warning to partners or neighbors could not be described as positive, and did not help progress toward a diplomatic solution of the North Korean nuclear problem.
North Korea is a party to six-nation talks on its nuclear program and has already announced both that it is pulling out of the Nonproliferation Treaty and that it has nuclear weapons.
Russia's Foreign Ministry has urged the communist regime to continue observing the moratorium on missile launches and said it would consult with other participants of six-party talks on the issue.
The UN Security Council has convened for an emergency meeting to discuss the developments of the situation on the Korean peninsula.
