A new North Korean missile test appeared to have ended in failure, according to South Korean and US officials.

The reported failed launch on Wednesday came during large-scale annual military drills involving US and South Korean forces that the North has called a rehearsal for an invasion.

Seoul's defence ministry said in a statement that Pyongyang fired one missile from an airbase in the eastern port of Wonsan but the launch was believed to have failed.



"We are in the process of analysing what type of missile it was," it added.

READ MORE: North Korea vows to pursue nuclear arms amid US threat

The statement came after Japan's Kyodo news service, citing an unidentified government source, said the North might have launched several missiles and that they were a failure.

A US military spokesman also said they had detected a failed North Korean missile launch attempt, with a missile exploding within seconds of its launch.

"US Pacific Command detected what we assess was a failed North Korean missile launch attempt ... in the vicinity of Kalma," Commander Dave Benham, a spokesman for US Pacific Command, said in a statement, referring to an airfield on North Korea's east coast.

"A missile appears to have exploded within seconds of launch," Benham said, adding that work was being carried out on a more detailed assessment.

The nuclear-armed North is under several sets of United Nations sanctions over its atomic and ballistic missile programmes.

Robert Kelley, a professor of political science and diplomacy at Pusan National University, said Pyongyang often conducts missile tests during the spring military drills carried out by South Korean and US troops.

"This is how the North Koreans send us a signal of displeasure," he told Al Jazeera. "That's what we assume, of course, since they don't tell us."

Earlier this month, the isolated country launched a flight of four ballistic missiles, with three landing close to Japan in what Pyongyang described as practice for attacks on US military bases in Japan.



On Sunday, the North's leader, Kim Jong-un, personally oversaw and hailed a "successful" test of what Pyongyang said was a new rocket engine - which can be easily repurposed for use in missiles.

Seoul said that experiment showed "meaningful progress" in the North's missile capabilities.

The engine test was apparently timed to coincide with a recent Asia trip by new US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who warned that regional tensions had reached a "dangerous level".



Washington would drop the "failed" approach of "strategic patience" with Pyongyang, Tillerson said, warning that US military action was an "option on the table" if necessary - a sharp divergence from China's insistence on a diplomatic approach to its neighbour, which it has long protected.



This week the North's state news agency KCNA boasted that Tillerson had "admitted the failure" of US policy to denuclearise the nation.



Pyongyang insists that it needs nuclear weapons for self-defence against "hostile enemies" including the South.</s>North Korea's latest missile launch ended in failure on Wednesday as the United States sent a supersonic bomber streaking over ally South Korea in a show of force against the North, officials said.

The reported launch failure comes as the North angrily reacts to ongoing annual U.S.-South Korean military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal. Earlier this month, North Korea fired four ballistic missiles that landed in waters off Japan, triggering strong protests from Seoul and Tokyo.

The American military detected what it assessed as a failed North Korean missile launch on Wednesday morning, the U.S. Pacific Command said in a statement. It said the missile "appears to have exploded within seconds of launch."

South Korea's Defense Ministry said it also believes the launch from the eastern coastal town of Wonsan ended in failure. It said it was analyzing what type of missile was launched.

The failure might mean that the missile is a newly developed one the North has not deployed, according to South Korean media. Last year, the country suffered a series of embarrassing failed launches of its new medium-range Musudan missile before it successfully test-fired one.

Also Wednesday, a U.S. Air Force B-1B bomber and South Korean fighter jets conducted joint training exercises that displayed "strong deterrence against North Korean nuclear and missile threats," South Korea's Defense Ministry said. The U.S. military said the training was held after the bomber staged a similar exercise with Japanese fighter jets.

The United States often sends powerful warplanes in times of heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula, which remains in a technical state of war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. About 28,500 U.S. soldiers are deployed in South Korea.

North Korea is pushing hard to upgrade its weapons systems to cope with what it calls U.S. hostility. Many weapons experts say the North could have a functioning nuclear-tipped missile capable of reaching the continental U.S. within a few years. North Korea carried out two nuclear tests last year.

American defense officials had said Tuesday that the U.S. military was expecting another North Korean missile launch in the next several days. The officials said the U.S. had increased its surveillance over the North and had detected a North Korean missile launcher being moved, as well as the construction of VIP seating in Wonsan.

On Sunday, the North claimed a major breakthrough in its rocket development program, saying it had conducted a ground test of a new type of high-thrust rocket engine. Washington, Seoul and others view the North's space program as a cover for its banned long-range missile development program.</s>North Korea upped the military ante with another missile test — though this time the test failed. On Wednesday, the Hermit Kingdom attempted to fire another missile that exploded “within seconds of launch” the U.S. Pacific Command said. Despite the failure, the test indicates North Korea is stubbornly inching its missile program forward, raising tensions with the United States and its Asian allies.

“South Korea and the U.S. are aware of the missile launch and to their knowledge North Korea’s missile was not successfully launched,” the South Korean defense ministry said in a statement Wednesday. The defense ministry did not clarify what type of missile North Korea attempted to fire. The missile launch took place near Kalma, on North Korea’s east coast.

The attempted launch Wednesday is the latest in a series of launches Pyongyang used to probe U.S. President Donald Trump’s fledgling administration and assert itself in east Asia. Security experts worry the flurry of launches could indicate new advancements in North Korea’s missile programs in tandem with its nuclear weapons program.

During his trip to Asia last week, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned the United States would consider preemptive strikes against North Korea if Pyongyang’s threat to Washington and its Asian allies grew too big. The Trump administration is also considering tightening the sanctions noose around North Korea further to curb its military developments, Reuters reported Tuesday.

On Sunday, North Korea announced it successfully tested a new high-thrust engine that could help the country successfully develop intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). North Korea made strides in its ICBM program in recent years, but experts believe it’s still a long way from fully developing one. On March 6, North Korea fired four missiles that fell some 300 miles off the coast of Japan.

“This is a direct challenge to the international community and a grave violation,” acting South Korean President Hwang Kyo-ahn said after the March 6 launch. “I’d say the consequences of the Kim Jong Un regime having nuclear weapons will be horrible,” he added.

North Korea conducted two nuclear testes and 24 missile tests in 2016.

Wednesday’s launch comes as the U.S. and South Korean militaries embark on a huge annual military exercise in the region that prompted sharp rebuke from the North Korean government. Regional experts say the uptick in missile tests could be in response to the exercise.

The United States began deploying Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile systems to South Korea in late February to counter the threat. The move sparked protest from Beijing, showcasing the complicated security landscape the Trump administration must navigate in Asia.

North Korea reportedly has two types of missiles, the KN-14 and KN-08, that could potentially reach the U.S. mainland. Neither missile has ever been tested.</s>The latest North Korean missile test failed on Wednesday, with the rocket exploding “within seconds of launch,” according to the U.S. Pacific Command.

“South Korea and the US are aware of the missile launch and to their knowledge, North Korea’s missile was not successfully launched,” said South Korea’s Ministry of Defense about the North Korean missile test, in a statement relayed by CNN.

Reuters reports the launch was made from “near the city of Wonsan, on North Korea’s east coast, the same place from where it launched several intermediate-range missiles last year, all but one of which failed.”

A South Korean military official agreed with the U.S. assessment that the missile “may have exploded right after it took off from a launch pad.”

The Washington Post writes that American and South Korean military intelligence services are still analyzing the data they gathered about the launch and are not yet certain precisely what type of missile it was. North Korea tested a rocket engine that dictator Kim Jong-un described as technology of “historic significance” over the weekend, but it’s not clear if this failed test involved one of those engines.</s>North Korea's latest missile launch appears to have ended in failure, just days after the country claimed it had managed a major breakthrough in its rocket program.

The North fired a missile from the eastern coastal town of Wonsan on Wednesday. but the launch ended in a failure, Seoul's Defense Ministry said in a statement.

It said it was analyzing what type of missile North Korea launched.

Japanese authorities provided backing the South's report, with Kyodo News saying it believed the test may have failed.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the government had not confirmed whether the missiles were trying to be fired towards Japan.

US officials shed further light on the failure, which was the latest in a series of missile tests by the isolated, nuclear armed state that have raised alarm across the region.

'US Pacific Command detected what we assess was a failed North Korean missile launch attempt ... in the vicinity of Kalma,' Commander Dave Benham, a spokesman for US Pacific Command, said in a statement, referring to an air field on North Korea's east coast.

'A missile appears to have exploded within seconds of launch.'

Earlier this month, North Korea fired four ballistic missiles that landed in waters off Japan, triggering strong protests from Seoul and Tokyo.

The reported failure came as US and South Korean troops were conducting their annual military drills that the North calls an invasion rehearsal.

American officials said earlier this week the US military expected another North Korean missile launch in the next several days.

The officials said the US has increased its surveillance over the North as a result, and had detected a North Korean missile launcher being moved, as well as the construction of VIP seating in Wonsan.

The North's state media said Sunday it had conducted a rocket engine test that its leader, Kim Jong Un, said opened 'a new birth' of its rocket industry.

Last year, North Korea launched several intermediate-range missiles from the same area but only one of the tests was successful.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visited Japan, South Korea and China last week, and how to handle North Korea was a major issue in his talks.

Tillerson said all options, including a military one, were on the table if North Korea threatened South Korean or U.S. forces.

US President Donald Trump on Sunday criticized North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, saying he was 'acting very, very badly'.</s>A North Korean missile appeared to have exploded on Wednesday , seconds after it was launched, the U.S. and South Korean militaries said after detecting the latest in a series of weapons tests by the nuclear-armed state that have alarmed the region.

The launch attempt was made from near the city of Wonsan, on North Korea’s east coast, the same place from where it launched several intermediate-range missiles last year, all but one of which failed.

“U.S. Pacific Command detected what we assess was a failed North Korean missile launch attempt … in the vicinity of Kalma,” Commander Dave Benham, a spokesman for U.S. Pacific Command, said in a statement, referring to an air field in Wonsan.

“A missile appears to have exploded within seconds of launch,” Benham said, adding that work was being carried out on a more detailed assessment.

A South Korean military official told Reuters the missile appeared to have exploded just after it was launched.

“It may have exploded right after it took off from a launch pad,” said military official, who declined to be identified.

It was not clear what type of missile it was. The South Korean defense ministry said it was conducting analysis to determine further details.

North Korea launched four ballistic missiles from near its west coast on March 6 and this week conducted a rocket engine test that its leader, Kim Jong Un, said opened “a new birth” of its rocket industry.

The latest launch came as the U.S. envoy for North Korea policy, Joseph Yun, met his South Korean counterpart in Seoul to discuss a response to the North’s weapons programs.

Just last week U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visited Japan, South Korea and China and how to handle North Korea was a major issue in his talks.

Speaking in Seoul on Friday, Tillerson said a policy of strategic patience with North Korea had ended and all options, including a military one, were on the table if North Korea threatened South Korean or U.S. forces.

North Korea has conducted two nuclear tests and a series of missile launches since the beginning of last year in defiance of U.N. resolutions. It is believed to be working to develop nuclear-tipped missiles that can reach the United States.

U.S. President Donald Trump rebuked Kim on Sunday, saying the North Korean leader was “acting very, very badly”.

A senior U.S. official in Washington told Reuters on Monday that the Trump administration was considering sweeping sanctions as part of a broad review of measures to counter North Korea’s nuclear and missile threat.

The United States is also deploying an advanced missile- defense system in South Korea. But China objects to the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, saying its powerful radar can penetrate deep into its territory, undermining its security.

Undaunted by the possibility of even tougher sanctions aimed at cutting North Korea off from the global financial system, a North Korean diplomat said his government would pursue an “acceleration” of its nuclear and missile programs.

This includes developing a “pre-emptive first strike capability” and an inter-continental ballistic missile, said Choe Myong Nam, deputy ambassador at the DPRK (North Korean) mission to the United Nations in Geneva.

Japan’s Nikkei index .N225 and South Korean stocks .KS11 extended losses slightly after news of a North Korean launch broke but trade was steady overall.</s>A new missile launch by North Korea appears to have ended in failure, South Korea has said, three days after Pyongyang claimed a major breakthrough in its rocket development programme.

The reported launch failure came as US and South Korean troops were conducting their annual military drills that the North calls an invasion rehearsal.

Earlier this month North Korea fired four ballistic missiles that landed in waters off Japan, triggering strong protests from Seoul and Tokyo.

On Wednesday morning, the North fired a missile from the eastern coastal town of Wonsan, but the launch was believed to have ended in failure, Seoul's Defence Ministry said.

It said it was analysing what type of missile North Korea launched.

American officials said earlier this week that the US military expected another North Korean missile launch in the next few days.

The officials said the US had increased its surveillance over the North and had detected a North Korean missile launcher being moved, as well as the construction of VIP seating in Wonsan.

The North's state media said on Sunday that it conducted a ground test of a new type of high-thrust rocket engine, which it hailed as a breakthrough for the country's space programme.

Weapons experts say such technology has applications for the North's ballistic missile programme.</s>South Korea says the latest missile launch test by North Korea has ended in a failure.

The reported failure Wednesday come as U.S. and South Korean troops were conducting annual military drills that the North calls an invasion rehearsal.

Seoul's Defense Ministry says that the South Korean and U.S. militaries said the launch was not conducted in a successful way.

It gave no further details, such as what type of missile was fired.

Earlier this month, North Korea fired four ballistic missiles that flew about 620 miles on average, with three of them landing in waters off Japan.

Tillerson warns of possible military strike on North Korea

North Korean diplomat says Kim Jong Nam was killed by a heart attack, not a nerve agent</s>SEOUL: A North Korean missile launch failed on Wednesday (Mar 22), with the rocket exploding within seconds, the US military said, the latest in a series of North Korean weapons tests to rattle its neighbours and raise tension in the region.

South Korea said the apparent test launch of one missile by nuclear-capable North Korea, from the city of Wonsan on its east coast, had failed. South Korea's defence ministry said it was conducting an analysis to determine more details.

The US military statement shed more light.

"US Pacific Command detected what we assess was a failed North Korean missile launch attempt ... in the vicinity of Kalma," Commander Dave Benham, a spokesman for US Pacific Command, said in the statement, referring to an air field in Wonsan.

"A missile appears to have exploded within seconds of launch," Benham said, adding that work was being carried out on a more detailed assessment.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency said the missile may have exploded as it was launched, before reaching an altitude at which it could be detected by South Korean radar.

The launch comes as the US envoy for North Korea nuclear programme, Joseph Yun, met his South Korean counterpart in Seoul to discuss a response to the North's weapons programmes.

Just last week US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visited Japan, South Korea and China and how to handle North Korea was a major issue in his talks.

Speaking in Seoul on Friday, Tillerson said a policy of strategic patience with North Korea had ended and all options, including a military one, were on the table if North Korea threatened South Korean or US forces.

North Korea has conducted two nuclear tests and a series of missile launches since the beginning of last year in defiance of U.N. resolutions. It is believed to be working to develop nuclear-tipped missiles that can reach the United States.

The initial reports of North Korea's tests on Wednesday came from Japan's Kyodo news agency, which cited a Japanese government source saying North Korea may have launched several missiles from an area on its east coast. Kyodo also said the launch may have failed.

Last year, North Korea launched several intermediate-range missiles from the same area but only one of the tests was successful.

North Korea launched four ballistic missiles from near its west coast on Mar 6 and this week conducted a rocket engine test that its leader, Kim Jong Un, said opened "a new birth" of its rocket industry.

US President Donald Trump on Sunday criticized Kim, saying the North Korean leader was "acting very, very badly".

A senior US official in Washington told Reuters on Monday that the Trump administration was considering sweeping sanctions as part of a broad review of measures to counter North Korea's nuclear and missile threat.

The United States is also deploying an advanced missile defence system in South Korea. But China objects to the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, saying its powerful radar can penetrate deep into its territory, undermining its security.

Undaunted by the possibility of even tougher sanctions aimed at cutting North Korea off from the global financial system, a North Korean diplomat said his government would pursue an "acceleration" of its nuclear and missile programmes.

This includes developing a "pre-emptive first strike capability" and an inter-continental ballistic missile, said Choe Myong Nam, deputy ambassador at the DPRK (North Korean) mission to the United Nations in Geneva.

Japan's Nikkei index and South Korean stocks extended losses slightly after news of the North Korean launch broke but trade was steady overall.</s>North Korea attempted a missile launch Wednesday morning but it failed almost immediately, U.S. military officials and South Korea said.

“A missile appears to have exploded within seconds of launch,” U.S. Pacific Command spokesman Dave Benham said in a statement. “We are working with our interagency partners on a more detailed assessment. We continue to monitor North Korea’s actions closely.”

The launch comes a day after the North issued an ominous warning of a potential pre-emptive strike after a test over the weekend of a new advanced rocket engine.

“The world will soon witness what eventful significance the … recent ground jet test of Korean-style high-thrust engine will carry,” North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday via state-run news agency KCNA. “The nuclear force of [North Korea] is the treasured sword of justice and the most reliable war deterrence.”

South Korea also confirmed the failed launch and said it was analyzing what type of missile was fired, a South Korean military official confirmed to NBC News.

North Korea conducted two nuclear test explosions and 24 ballistic missile tests during 2016, and experts say it could have a nuclear-tipped missile capable of reaching the U.S. mainland within a few years.

Asked by NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell whether North Korea’s threat of pre-emptive military action represents a dangerous escalation, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson replied: “No comment today, thank you.”
According to South Korean and United States officials, a missile test in North Korea ends in failure, with the missile exploding seconds after launch.