Seoul: Pyongyang ballistic missile fails in test launch

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — North Korea test-fired a midrange ballistic missile from the western part of its country early today, but the launch apparently failed, South Korea and the United States said Saturday.

The test comes as the North pushes for a nuclear-tipped missile that can strike the U.S. mainland.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the North fired the unidentified missile from around Pukchang, which is near the capital Pyongyang, but provided no other details.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said the projectile was likely a KN-17 missile. It broke up minutes after the launch and the pieces fell into the Sea of Japan.

A South Korean military official also said without elaborating that the launch was believed to be a failure. He did not want to be named, citing office rules. The official couldn’t immediately confirm how far the missile flew.

North Korea routinely testfires a variety of ballistic missiles, despite United Nations prohibitions, as part of its weapons development. But its tests of longer-range missiles have become an increasing source of concern.

The latest launch comes as President Donald Trump, who took an initial hard line with Pyongyang and sent a U.S. aircraft supercarrier to Korean waters, is seeking a diplomatic solution.

On Friday, the United States and China offered starkly different strategies, as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, chairing a ministerial meting of the U.N. Security Council, demanded full enforcement of economic sanctions on Pyongyang and urged new penalties. Stepping back from suggestions of U.S. military action, he even offered aid to North Korea if it ends its nuclear weapons program.

Tillerson said all options “must remain the table,” while emphasizing the need for diplomatic and economic pressure on North Korea.

“We must have full and complete compliance by every country,” Tillerson said.

Yet Foreign Minister Wang Yi of China — the country whose cooperation the Trump administration says is key to reining in North Korea, which depends on Chinese economic aid — spelled out no further punitive steps his government might consider, despite Tillerson’s earlier assertions that Beijing would impose sanctions if North Korea conducts another nuclear test.

“The key to resolving the nuclear issue on the peninsula does not lie in the hands of the Chinese side,” Wang said, stressing the need for negotiations.

Instead, Wang put forward a familiar Chinese idea to ease tensions: North Korea suspending its nuclear and missile activities if the U.S. and South Korea stop military exercises in the region. Washington and Seoul reject that idea.

Wang’s sentiment was echoed by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov.

“Combative rhetoric coupled with reckless muscle-flexing” has led to serious fears of war, Gatilov said.