North Korea Test-Fires Another Missile Launch; U.S. Military Calls It Unsuccessful
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- North Korea conducted another missile launch Friday night.
The latest ballistic missile launch came just hours after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urged the United Nations to hit North Korea with more economic sanctions.
"The policy of strategic patience is over," Tillerson said.
Both the U.S. and South Korean military called the latest launch a failure, CBS2's Brian Conybeare reported. The missile apparently exploded minutes after taking off.
Still, Trump expressed his frustration, tweeting "North Korea disrespected the wishes of China and its highly respected president when it launched, though unsuccessfully, a missile today. Bad!"
On Thursday, the president had an ominous warning.
"There's a chance that we could end up having a major, major conflict with North Korea. Absolutely," he said.
While a U.S. aircraft carrier group and Japanese warships patrolled the waters near the Korean Peninsula, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's military conducted a massive live-fire exercise this week.
Tillerson urged all nations, particularly China, not to dismiss the north's sabre rattling.
"For too long, the international community has been reactive in addressing North Korea. Those days must come to an end. Failing to act now on the most pressing security issue in the world may bring catastrophic consequences," he said.
Tillerson said it's only a matter of time until North Korea has a long-range nuclear missile that could reach the U.S. mainland. Both he and Trump want China to use its influence to stop those efforts, or military action could be the next step.
However, China's foreign minister would not discuss further sanctions Friday and urged the U.S. to stop its military exercises in the area.
