Russia deploys system to counter N Korean missiles

MOSCOW: Russia has deployed its most advanced S-400 Triumf anti-missile defence systems in its far eastern region to counter the threat posed by
North Korean missile tests, a top military official said on Wednesday.

"We have already deployed a battalion of the S-400 systems in Russia's Far East in order to guarantee protection from failed launches of (N Korean) missiles and to ensure that the fragments of these missiles never fall on the Russian territory," chief of the general staff, Gen Nikolai Makarov was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti.

A regular S-400 battalion comprises at least eight launchers with 32 missiles and a mobile command post, according to local military experts.

Gen Makarov, who is accompanying President Dmitry Medvedev on a tour of Mongolia, addressing a news conference in Ulan Bator said Moscow was concerned over the proximity of North Korean missile launch sites to Russia's border.

Since January the Pyongyang regime has test launched several ballistic missiles from its eastern coast. The missiles are believed to be the modification of the Soviet Scud-type fell in the Sea of Japan after travelling up to 500 kilometres.