The test launch came on the day after North Korea’s military arsenal was displayed at a parade in Pyongyang.
An attempt to launch a missile on the east coast of North Korea failed within seconds on Saturday, according to military officials from South Korea and the United States.
The test launch of a ballistic missile was confirmed by US Pacific Command, with US Navy Commander Dave Benham telling Reuters that “the missile blew up almost immediately”.
The launch of the missile came only a day after some worrying comments at a military parade in Pyongyang to celebrate the 105th anniversary of the birth of North Korea’s founding president, Kim Il-sung.
Amid escalating tensions with the United States following the deployment of a US Navy strike group in the Korean peninsula, Choe Ryong-hae, believed to be the country’s second most powerful official, said: “We’re prepared to respond to an all-out war with an all-out war.
“We are ready to hit back with nuclear attacks of our own style against any nuclear attacks.”
North Korea has already conducted five nuclear tests in defiance of UN and unilateral sanctions and the failed missile launch yesterday was described as “a show of force that threatens the whole world” in a statement by South Korea’s Foreign Ministry.
“North Korea showing a variety of offensive missiles at yesterday’s military parade and daring to fire a ballistic missile today is a show of force that threatens the whole world,” the statement read.
