North Korea launched a ballistic missile that failed just after it was fired early on Thursday according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.
"According to a joint assessment by Seoul and Washington, North Korea launched a ballistic missile at 7 a.m. near an airfield in the northwestern city of Kusong. The missile is presumed to be a Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile," the military officials said.
Earlier in the day the U.S. announced it detected Pyongyang’s failed missile launch, which was the second unsuccessful attempt to fire a Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile in less than a week. On Saturday, the North fired a missile which exploded shortly after launch.
Today’s failed launch marks the eighth time Pyongyang fired a Musudan missile. Only one of the attempts was successful with the missile flying 400 km, while the other seven exploded shortly after being fired.
Image: EPA / Jeon Heon-kyun