Attempted North Korean missile launch fails, U.S. confirms

(CBS) North Korea attempted to launch a missile that is believed to have failed, the U.S. Pacific Command confirmed on Saturday.

The official said the missile was not an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which North Korea has claimed to possess but has never successfully tested.

The missile blew up almost immediately, the U.S. Pacific Command said. The type of missile is still being assessed.

It’s unclear why it failed. The missile was launched from Sinpo, on its east coast.

The Yonhap news agency in South Korea first reported the failed launch, citing the South Korean military.

“The North attempted to launch an unidentified missile from near the Sinpo region this morning but it is suspected to have
failed,” the South’s Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement

Vice President Mike Pence is en route to Seoul, the South Korean capital, as part of a 10-day swing through Asia.

North Korea spent the weekend celebrating the 105th anniversary of the country’s late founder, Kim Il Sung. At a massive military parade presided over by North Korea leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday, the military displayed new ICBMs and other military hardware, CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy reported from Pyongyang.

The display included submarine-launched ballistic missiles, believed to be the same type of missile North Korea fired from land in February. The missiles use solid fuel, making them easier to load and harder to detect than liquid fuel rockets.

The parade went on for more than two hours as thousands of North Korean soldiers marched in lockstep through the city’s main square.