The US military said it detected an unsuccessful medium-range ballistic missile launch by North Korea on Saturday, capable of hitting US bases as far away as Guam.
The US Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) said the launch, detected just after midday Saturday Korea time, was believed to be of a much-hyped Musudan missile which North Korea has now test-fired seven times -- with one partial success.
"We strongly condemn this and North Korea's other recent missile tests, which violate UN Security Council resolutions explicitly prohibiting North Korea's launches using ballistic missile technology," Pentagon spokesman Gary Ross said in a statement, according to CNN.
UN resolutions prohibit North Korea from using ballistic missile technology, and this latest test came as the UN Security Council is debating fresh sanctions on Pyongyang following its fifth nuclear test in September.
"This provocation only serves to increase the international community's resolve to counter (North Korea's) prohibited activities," said Pentagon spokesman Gary Ross.
"We remain prepared to defend ourselves and our allies from any attack or provocation," Ross added.
South Korea's defense ministry confirmed the failed launch, held near an air base in the northwestern city of Kusong in North Korea at 1203 Pyongyang time (0333 GMT).
- Pacific threat -
First unveiled as an indigenous missile at a military parade in Pyongyang in October 2010, the Musudan missile has a theoretical range of anywhere between 2,500 and 4,000 kilometers, making it capable of hitting targets anywhere in South Korea or Japan as well as US military bases on Guam.
After a string of five failed launches, North Korea test fired a Musudan in June that flew 400 kilometers into the Sea of Japan (East Sea). That test was hailed by leader Kim Jong-Un as proof of the North's ability to strike US bases across "the Pacific operation theatre".
US weapons analysts say successful Musudan testing could help the nuclear-armed North develop an operational intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of striking the US mainland by 2020.
The North has publicly displayed an ICBM, called the KN-08, which uses the same engine technology as the Musudan but has never been test-fired.
The latest Musudan test was the first since Seoul and Washington agreed to deploy a sophisticated US anti-missile system on South Korean soil to curb the North's growing nuclear weapons threat.
Pyongyang has threatened to take "physical action" against the new system, which has also been condemned by China as a US bid to flex its military muscle in the region.
There has been widespread speculation -- backed by satellite imagery showing activity at key military installations -- that the North is preparing a sixth nuclear test or a long-range rocket launch -- or possibly both.
(Staff with agencies)
