DPRK attempts missile launch but fails - S. Korea, US

SEOUL - The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) attempted early Sunday to test-fire an unidentified missile on its east coast, which was believed to have failed, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.

The JCS confirmed the botched missile launch, saying it is still analyzing what type of missile was launched.

On April 5, the DPRK test-fired a ballistic missile at a nearby region on the east coast, but it fell in eastern waters after abnormally flying about 60 km.

At the time, the South Korean military identified it as Pukguksong-2, an intermediate-range ballistic missile known to be newly developed based on a technology of submarine-launched ballistic missile.

The failed show of force by the DPRK came amid mounting tensions on the Korean Peninsula, which was caused by the USS Carl Vinson and its accompanying warships that have re-routed and headed to the peninsula about a week earlier.

The DPRK held a massive military parade on Saturday to mark the 105th anniversary of the birth of DPRK founder Kim Il Sung, the grandfather of current top leader Kim Jong Un.

During the parade, the DPRK showed off what were believed to be three types of intercontinental ballistic missile.

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon confirmed on Saturday that a new missile launch by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) had failed.

According to US Pacific Command spokesman Commander David Benham, the command detected and tracked what the U.S. military assessed was a DPRK missile launch at 11:21 am Hawaii time (2121 GMT) April 15.

"The launch of the ballistic missile occurred near Sinpo," said Benham. "The missile blew up almost immediately. The type of missile is still being assessed."

The new missile test, which took place near the port city of Sinpo, South Hamgyong Province, came hours after the DPRK showed in a festive parade all of its most-advanced ballistic and tactic missiles, including a submarine-launched ballistic missile which could strike targets 1000 km away.