North Korea tried and failed to launch a test missile on Sunday, hours after showing off its latest military hardware at a Pyongyang parade.
ADVERTISEMENTNorth Korea tried and failed to launch a test missile on Sunday, hours after showing off its latest military
hardware at a Pyongyang parade.
Leader Kim Jong-un was widely expected to attempt a launch around Saturday’s anniversary of the birth of the state’s founder.
He attended a grand military parade in the capital in which what appeared to be new long-range ballistic missiles were displayed.
The failed launch occurred near Sinpo, on North Korea’s east coast, and the missile blew up almost immediately, according to the US military.
President Donald Trump and his military team are aware of the failed launch, US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said in a statement, adding that Trump has no further comment on the matter.
North Korea tests missile but fails: "It blew up almost immediately." https://t.co/jkXSwA34Mgpic.twitter.com/1RUxIsADhB
— Huffington Post (@HuffingtonPost) 15 avril 2017
It comes amid mounting tensions in the region being visited by US Vice President Mike Pence.
As an American aircraft carrier group heads there too, US intelligence officials have reportedly said the Trump administration is ready to launch a preemptive strike with conventional weapons if it is sure North Korea is about to stage another nuclear weapons test.
A US Navy attack on a Syrian airfield this month with Tomahawk missiles raised questions about
President Trump’s plans for reclusive North Korea, which has conducted several missile and nuclear tests in defiance of UN sanctions, regularly threatening to destroy the United States.
Pyongyang has warned the US to end what it called its ‘military hysteria’ or face retaliation.
with Reuters