Russia says North Korea missile test was not ICBM

PanARMENIAN.Net - Russia objected on Thursday, July 6 to a United Nations Security Council condemnation of North Korea's latest rocket launch because the U.S.-drafted statement labeled it an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and Moscow disagrees, diplomats said, according to Reuters.

Security Council statements have to be agreed by all 15 members. The Russian mission to the United Nations said it had proposed amendments to the U.S. draft. It was not immediately clear if the United States would continue to negotiate with Russia in an effort to reach a council consensus on a statement.

Moscow's resistance to defining Pyongyang's missile launch as long-range does not augur well for Washington's planned push to impose new U.N. sanctions on North Korea. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said on Wednesday that she plans to propose new measures in coming days.

Moscow has said it believes North Korea fired an intermediate range ballistic missile on Tuesday, while China has not identified the rocket launched. North Korea said it tested an ICBM and the United States said that was likely true.

"The rationale is that based on our (Ministry of Defense's) assessment we cannot confirm that the missile can be classified as an ICBM," Russia's U.N. mission said in an email to its Security Council colleagues.

"Therefore we are not in a position to agree to this classification on behalf of the whole council since there is no consensus on this issue," the email said.

Haley on Wednesday denounced Russia's reluctance to recognize that North Korea had test-launched an ICBM, which some experts believe has the range to reach the U.S. states of Alaska and Hawaii.

"If you need any sort of intelligence to let you know that the rest of the world sees this as an ICBM, I'm happy to provide it," she told the Security Council on Wednesday.