North Korea's latest missile test reportedly fails
Published: March 21, 2017 at 11:48 p.m. ET
Jonathan Cheng
Missile explodes in midair, South Korean officials say
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un celebrates a high-thrust engine test recently in this undated handout photo.
KCNA via Reuters
SEOUL — North Korea attempted to fire a missile from its east coast on Wednesday morning, according to South Korea's Ministry of National Defense, in an apparent failed launch days after the isolated country claimed a breakthrough with a long-range rocket engine.
North Korea's launch of the unidentified missile, which South Korean officials said exploded in midair, also comes days after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson left the region after meeting with his counterparts and the leaders of Japan, South Korea and China, and delivered tough words aimed at reining in North Korea's missile and nuclear program.
Japan's Kyodo News, which first reported the launch citing an unidentified Japanese source, said the missile launch took place around 7 a.m. in Tokyo and Seoul, and may have involved multiple missiles.
South Korea's defense ministry said the launch took place from a site near the eastern coastal city of Wonsan and that the missile was fired into the waters between Japan and the Korean Peninsula.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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