The Russian defense minister denied Friday allegations that China launched a ballistic missile January 11 that destroyed a satellite.

CNN earlier said that a U.S. National Security Council spokesman confirmed a report in the  American Aviation Week and Space Technology magazine that China last week destroyed one of its old meteorological satellites with ballistic missile.

“I’ve heard these reports, and they’re quite abstract,” the defence minister said in remarks carried by news agency Interfax.

“I’m afraid it’s not so. And, maybe, it’s not that I’m afraid, but it’s a good thing that it’s not so,” he continued.

China’s possible objectives remain unclear, though some analysts think China is using the trial to force U.S. to sign a treaty prohibiting the testing of space weaponry.

Popularity: 2% [?]