SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea says North Korea has fired an unidentified projectile but the launch apparently ended in a failure.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff says in a statement that the launch was made from the North’s capital region at around 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
It says South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities were analyzing details of the launch that later apparently failed but gave no further details.
The reported launch comes amid suspicions that North Korea would fire an intercontinental ballistic missile soon in its most significant provocation since 2017.
U.S. and South Korean militaries said last week that North Korea tested an ICBM system in its two recent launches. They say the weapon refers to the North’s developmental Hwasong-17 missile that was first unveiled during a military parade in October 2020.