The United States and South Korea have warned that North Korea may be preparing to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at full range for the first time since 2017.
The projectile was fired from Sunan Airport outside the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement.
"It is presumed that it failed immediately after launch," the statement said. The projectile seemed to explode in mid-air shortly after liftoff, Yonhap news agency reported, citing unnamed sources.
The US military's Indo-Pacific Command called it a "ballistic missile launch." The command did not mention the reported failure, but condemned the launch and urged Pyongyang to refrain from further destabilising acts.
A source at Japan's Ministry of Defence also called the projectile a potential ballistic missile, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported.
Debris fell in or near Pyongyang after the failed test, Seoul-based NK News reported, citing unnamed witnesses and a photograph of the test showing a red-tinted ball of smoke at the end of a zig-zagging rocket launch trail in the sky above the city.
In 2017, an intermediate-range ballistic missile launched from another location failed shortly after liftoff and crashed into an industrial or agriculture complex in the city of Tokchon.
The Sunan airport has been the site of several recent launches, including on February 27 and March 5. North Korea said those tests were for developing components of a reconnaissance satellite and did not identify what rocket it used, but Seoul and Washington said they were tests of a new ICBM system.
Reclusive North Korea has fired missiles at an unprecedented frequency this year, conducting its ninth weapons test on March 5, drawing condemnation from the United States, South Korea and Japan.
The new ICBM system, the Hwasong-17, was unveiled at a military parade in 2020 and reappeared at a defence exhibition in October 2021.
North Korea has not tested an ICBM or nuclear bomb since 2017, but has said that it could resume such testing because denuclearisation talks with the United States are stalled.
