A day after Kim Jong Un's big gun show, his missile test fails

US, South Korea claim North launched a missile, but it blew up almost immediately after its launch

Korean People's ballistic missiles being displayed during a parade in Pyongyang on Saturday. Pic/AFP

Washington: North Korea launched a missile yesterday but it blew up almost immediately after its launch, the US military said, a day after Pyongyang warned Washington that it is "prepared to respond to an all-out war with an all-out war".

The attempted launch occurred a day after the regime of Kim Jong Un showed off a bevy of new missiles and launchers at a large-scale military parade. "The missile blew up almost immediately. The type of missile is still being assessed," the US Pacific Command (USPACOM) said in a statement.

The US Pacific Command detected and tracked what it assessed was a North Korean missile, the statement said. "The launch of the ballistic missile occurred near Sinpo," US Pacific Command spokesman CDR Dave Benham said.

Meanwhile, US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said that President Donald Trump and his military team are aware of the missile launch. "The President and his military team are aware of North Korea's most recent unsuccessful missile launch. The President has no further comment," said Mattis.

South Korean and US intelligence officials are trying to determine what type of missile was used yesterday, but it was described as a land-based missile. The launch came just hours before Mike Pence, the US vice president, arrived in Seoul for talks with the South Korean government over how to deal with Pyongyang's nuclear ambition. North Korean state media has made no comment on the launch.

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