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Russia considers North Korea’s new hypersonic missile launches provocation — diplomat

"We will not support North Korea’s moot attempts to use certain test launches for further escalation," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stressed

MOSCOW, September 29. /TASS/. Moscow will not support North Korea’s attempts to use new missile launches in order to aggravate the situation on the Korean Peninsula, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stated on Wednesday.

"We will not support North Korea’s moot attempts to use certain test launches for further escalation," the senior diplomat said.

According to Ryabkov, Russia "closely monitors all information from various sources" regarding North Korea’s launches, and also "compares this data with the UN Security Council resolutions," which imposed rather strict sanctions on North Korea and determined the acceptable level for the development of military capabilities.

The deputy foreign minister noted that North Korea’s new missile launch should not interfere with the political process of the Korean Peninsula’s denuclearization. "We believe that there is an alternative path, and the sooner the political process and dialogue are resumed, the better for the Northeast Asia and global security," the Russian senior diplomat stated.

On September 28, North Korea for the first time tested a new hypersonic missile Hwasong-8. Earlier this week, the Committee of the Chiefs of Staff announced the launch of a short-range missile towards the Sea of Japan. On September 15, North Korea launched two ballistic missiles towards the Sea of Japan, which fell in the exclusive economic zone of Japan. On September 13, the country announced the successful tests of a new long-range cruise missile, which were held on September 11 and 12.