North Korea’s missile launch has failed, South’s military says

North Korea tried but failed to launch an intermediate-range missile Friday, American and South Korean military officials said, dealing the regime an embarrassing blow on the most important day of the year on the North Korean calendar.

 

To mark the 104th anniversary of the birthday of the country’s “eternal president,” Kim Il Sung, North Korea launched a missile from its east coast at about 5:30 a.m. local time. But it deviated from a “normal” trajectory, an official from South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff told reporters in Seoul.

 

“North Korea appears to have tried a missile launch from the East Sea [Sea of Japan] area early morning today, but it is presumed to have failed,” the official said.

 

But South Korea’s military is still on high alert. “We are preparing against the possibility that the North could carry out heavyweight provocations at any time, including the fifth nuclear test,” a military official said, according to the Yonhap News Agency.

 

Read More: North Korea’s missile launch has failed, South’s military says – The Washington Post