Russian Aerospace Forces Test Short-Range Antimissile System © Sputnik/ Mikhail Fomichev

The Russian Defense Ministry said a short-range antimissile system was successfully tested early Tuesday at a Central Asian testing range.

Russian Vice Commander Lt. Gen. Viktor Gumenny, who arrived at the testing ground in Kazakhstan for the launch, was quoted as saying that the missile had “successfully fulfilled its task by engaging the test target at the scheduled time.”

“At 7:00 a.m. [4:00GMT] Tuesday, June 21, anti-missile and anti-aircraft forces of the Aerospace Forces together with industry representatives successfully test-fired a short-range antimissile system of the Russian missile shield at the Sary-Shagan testing ground,” the press release read.

On another development, Russia and Japan have agreed on cooperation amid North Korea's missile launches, the Japanese government representative in charge of Japan-Russia relations Chikahito Harada said Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, the US, Japanese and South Korean militaries detected two launches of presumably Musudan medium-range ballistic missiles from North Korea’s eastern coast.

“Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov who is in charge of North Korea issues and we exchanged opinions regarding today’s DPRK ballistic missile launch during a working dinner. We shared our mutual concerns and agreed to closely cooperate within the UN Security Council and other organizations,” Chikahito Harada told reporters.

All previous test launches of Musudan missiles with a range of 1,550 to 2,500 miles were botched.

Tensions over North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs escalated after Pyongyang said on January 6 that it had successfully carried out a hydrogen bomb test and put a satellite into orbit on February 7. The moves violated UN Security Council resolutions, and prompted the United Nations as well as the United States to impose sanctions.