North Korea tries another missile test – and it fails
North Korea's military muscle-flexing is failing to impress its international rivals, after US and South Korean officials said today that the would-be nuclear superpower has tried another missile test – and failed.
The rocket launch – which took place on the 104th birthday of North Korea's founding leader, Kim Il-sung – was the country's first test of a Musudan medium-range ballistic missile, according to a report from South Korea's Yonhap national news agency.
The US said it tracked the test, which was conducted from North Korea's east cost early Friday morning, but did not provide any details. The US and South Korea concluded that the test was a failure after a joint assessment.
Read more: North Korea announces fourth hydrogen bomb test in 10 years
North Korea is thought to have at least 50 more of the same missile, also known as the BM-25. The rocket's range is up to 4,000 km; it could in theory fly over South Korea and Japan to Guam, where US military are located.
A series of UN Security Council resolutions have banned North Korea from setting off ballistic missiles.
In early March, North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un said the country had made nuclear warheads small enough to fit on ballistic missiles. The country's state media published pictures of him standing next to what they claimed was a miniature nuclear weapon.
China has since restricted trade with North Korea over the repeated tests of nuclear weapons – the country launched a fourth nuclear test in January.