MOSCOW. May 20 (Interfax-AVN) - The General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces has not confirmed reports that North Korea is developing an intercontinental ballistic missile based on the Russian R-26 sea-based missile.
"No facts have been reported of a missile of this class being developed. Reports on this score have not received an authentic confirmation. No information is available suggesting that North Korea has long-range missiles," General Staff spokesman Vyacheslav Kondrashov said at a conference in Moscow.
"North Korea's missile potential is insignificant and is no threat to the neighboring countries," he said.
The development of missile technologies is a way of gaining political prestige and superiority over neighbors for North Korea and other countries, Kondrashov said.
North Korea has been developing ballistic missiles since the 1990s. It has Scat-3 tactical missile systems and No-Dong-1 ballistic missiles with a range of 1,300 kilometers in its arsenal, he said.
It is also developing the Taephodon-2 missile. The first and last launch of this missile in 2006 was a failure. The missile exploded almost immediately after launch, Kondrashov said.