Russia Sends Evidence to UN North Korea Tested Mid-Range Missile

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) — On Tuesday, North Korea announced it had successfully launched its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), saying it traveled 580 miles and reached an altitude of 1,740 miles during its 39-minute flight before accurately hitting a targeted area in the Sea of Japan.

A Voronezh-type radar station deployed in the Irkutsk region monitored the launch of the Hwasong-14 medium-range ballistic missile from North Korea, which flew about 14 minutes, about 510 kilometers (317 miles) far and 535 kilometers (332 miles) high landing in ​​the Sea of ​​Japan, Russian Defense Ministry said in a reference, which, together with a schematic illustration showing flight parameters, was sent to the UN Secretary General and to the Chairman of the Security Council.

The United States previously circulated its draft statement of the UN Security Council with condemnation of the tests, insisting the North Korean missile was intercontinental. Russian Permanent Mission to the UN disagreed with the definition of the launch as an intercontinental missile test and suggested that the US, as the authors of the project, should make appropriate adjustments to it.

The launch was discussed at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on July 5. The United States, France and the United Kingdom called for adoption of a new sanctioning resolution of the Security Council as the answer to the missile test. Russia's Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Vladimir Safronkov said Russia also object to any attempts to strangle North Korea with economic sanctions, as millions of people in the country are already in humanitarian need.