Russia Gave US Data on N Korean Latest Missile Launch on Putin-Trump Talks Day

North Korea did not launch an intercontinental missile, the Russian Defense Ministry gave its data on the issue to the Pentagon the day Russian and US presidents, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, respectively, met in Hamburg, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – On July 4, North Korea announced it had successfully launched its first intercontinental ballistic missile, saying it traveled 580 miles and reached an altitude of 1,740 miles during its 39-minute flight before accurately hitting a targeted area in the Sea of Japan. The test immediately prompted sharp criticism from the international community.

Following the launch, the Russian Defense Ministry disputed Pyongyang's claim, saying the missile's flight parameters indicated it reached an altitude of 535 kilometers (332 miles) and traveled 510 kilometers before falling in central Sea of Japan.

However, US officials believe that Pyongyang had successfully launched an ICBM for the first time.

"By the way, we provided to the US on that very day that the presidents spent in Hamburg, our military provided to the Pentagon our objective data we received from our radars located just on the border with North Korea, and according to that data, it is not an intercontinental missile," Lavrov told the NBC network in an interview.