Russia will monitor a planned satellite launch by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) but sees no reason to put on alert its own missile defense, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Oleg Ostapenko said Tuesday.

When asked by Interfax news agency if the Russia's air defense units in the Far East will be put on high alert, Ostapenko said he did not see any sense in it.

The DPRK's rocket was not capable of threatening Russia's anti-missile systems, he added.

"We will monitor and in any case, the missile strike warning system and space control system will work," he said.

The DPRK planned to launch a scientific satellite atop a three-stage rocket between Dec. 10-22, but extended the launch window to Dec. 29 due to "technical deficiency" in a rocket engine module, according to the official KCNA news agency.

This will be the DPRK's second launch this year after a failed attempt in April.

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