Russia calls North Korean missile test "provocation"

North Korea test-launched the six missiles, including a long-range Taepodong, in an early morning barrage Wednesday, violating its own seven-year moratorium on such launches and defying stern international warnings of retaliation.

Photo: Russia calls North Korean missile test "provocation"

The missiles apparently fell harmlessly into the Sea of Japan. The ITAR-Tass news agency reported from Tokyo that one fell about 250 kilometers (150 miles) from Russia's Pacific port of Vladivostok.

U.S. officials said the long-range Taepodong-2 failed shortly after being launched, calling into question the technological capability of North Korea's feared ballistic missile program. Pyongyang last fired a long-range missile in 1998.

But the audacious military exercise drew immediate, international condemnation. The White House called it a "provocation," while Japan prompted a U.N. Security Council meeting that will take place Wednesday and warned of economic sanctions against the impoverished, communist country, the AP reports.