News / Koreas

North Korea missile launch fails at liftoff: US

Sunday, 16 October 2016 5:45 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 16 October 2016 5:58 AM ]

A man watches a TV news program showing a file image of a missile launch conducted by North Korea, at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, October 16, 2016. (Photo by AP)

US military sources claim that North Korea has unsuccessfully fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile.

The United States Strategic Command’s systems detected what is believed to have been a Musudan missile launch, which failed in liftoff near North Korea’s northwestern city of Kusong, the Pentagon said in a statement on Sunday.

The US military said the launch would not have posed a threat to North America.

South Korean military sources also reported the failed liftoff of the missile at 0333 GMT on Saturday. Seoul did not speculate on the reason for the failed launch, either.

The reported incident coincides with the last day of the joint military drills between South Korea and the United States.

The five-day joint naval drill called “Invincible Spirit 2016” kicked off on Monday (October 10) in the waters surrounding the Korean Peninsula, according to the South Korean Defense Ministry.

The USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier is escorted into Busan port, South Korea, after completing a joint drill with the South Korean navy in the southern waters off the Korean Peninsula, October 16, 2016. (Photo by AP)

The USS Ronald Reagan nuclear-powered aircraft carrier took part in the military drill.

North Korea has been testing different types of missiles at an unprecedented rate this year, and the capability to mount a nuclear warhead on a missile is especially worrying for its neighbors South Korea and Japan, as well as the United States.

North Korea conducted its fifth and biggest nuclear test on September 9, prompting the UN Security Council to announce that it would begin to prepare a fresh round of sanctions against Pyongyang in the wake of its recent nuclear test.

Despite sanctions and international pressure, Pyongyang has pledged to strengthen its military capability to protect itself from the threat posed by the presence of US forces in the region.

A recent source of tensions is the controversial deployment of the US Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system in South Korea. The system is scheduled to be installed by the end of 2017 to defend the South against what Seoul and Washington claim to be nuclear and missile threats from North Korea.

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