Russian MFA considers North Korean missile launches a legitimate response to US provocations – Russian Politics & Diplomacy

MOSCOW, November 5. /TASS/. North Korea’s missile launches are a legitimate defensive measure in response to provocative activity by the United States, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko told TASS.

“(Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily) Nebenzya made it clear in New York that this comes as a response from our (North Korean) friends to what is happening around the Korean Peninsula and that provocative activity that the States United developed it together with its allies (This is a legitimate measure to ensure North Korea’s own defense capability), he argued when asked to comment on North Korea’s recent missile tests.

On October 31, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) test-fired its newest intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-19. The missile’s trajectory reached an altitude of 7,687.5 kilometers (4,776.8 mi) and flew a distance of 1,000 kilometers (621 mi). North Korea launched seven short-range ballistic missiles on Tuesday morning, Japanese Defense Minister General Nakatani said.