In the first test launch Tuesday, the RS-12M Topol missile fired from Plesetsk space launching area hit a set target on the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East.

The launch was part of an effort to test the possible extensionof the service life of the Soviet-built ballistic missiles, Russia's Strategic Missile Forces said in a statement after the test.

Meanwhile, another missile was fired by St. George nuclear submarine from under water in the Sea of Okhotsk in the Pacific Ocean, the other from the northwestern Plesetsk cosmodrome, according to the report.

A Defense Ministry official was quoted as saying that the missile launched from the submarine successfully hit a designated target in northern Russia, adding it is the first launch of the ballistic missile by the Russian Pacific Fleet in 2004.

The successful firing of the missile shows the ability and readiness of Russian sea-based strategic nuclear forces, Igor Dygalo, commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy was cited by saying.

Source: Xinhua News Agency

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