Attempted North Korean Missile Launch Fails, U.S. Military Says
NORTH KOREA (CBSNewYork/CBS News/AP) -- South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff says that North Korea has attempted to launch a missile, but the launch appeared to end in failure.
The statement Sunday said it wasn't clear what kind of missile was involved. North Korea launched a long range rocket and conducted two nuclear tests last year, including its most powerful to date, and there have been a slew of shorter range missile firings.
CBS News reports the missile was not an intercontinental ballistic missile -- a device the country has said they have in their possession.
According to CBS News, the missile was fired off from Sinpo, located along the country's eastern coast.
It was not immediately clear why the missile failed.
The launch comes hours after a powerful U.S. aircraft carrier approached the Korean peninsula in a show of force from President Donald Trump.
In a statement, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Trump and his military team "are aware of North Korea's most recent unsuccessful missile launch. The president has no further comment."
Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to visit the region Sunday with stops in South Korea and Japan.
Thousands of soldiers marched during a two-hour parade Saturday celebrating the 105th birthday of North Korea's late founder Kim Il Sung on Saturday.
The military then paraded its arsenal of weapons through the middle of the capital in Pyongyang. Some of the weapons are said to be a new type of ballistic missile that could someday reach the U.S. and Europe.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un honored his grandfather by walking with high-ranking officials through the palace where the nation's former leaders are honored.
On Friday, a top North Korean diplomat said the country will test missiles where and when it sees fit, and accused the Trump administration of a "vicious and more aggressive foreign policy."
"Tensions between our two countries have reached a peak, leaving us in the worst situation ever," North Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Han Song Ryol told CBS News.
The administration says North Korea is ratcheting up tension by pursuing a nuclear weapons program.
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
