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 moratorium on missile tests.
"Judging by the results of the North Korean missile launches, you could come to the conclusion that North Korea's missile technology is far from perfect, [and] there are huge mistakes in preparing and implementing both the launch and flight," Anatoly Perminov told journalists.
Asked why Russia had not intercepted North Korean missiles, Perminov said: "No one intended to intercept them, as North Korea presented no notification of missile launch, which they should have done."
The agency head refused to say whether Russia had technical capabilities to down missiles in such situations. "It's for the Defense Ministry [to answer] those questions," he said.
