North Korea missile test fails

North Korea has spectacularly failed to launch its latest set of missiles.

The US military detected the failed North Korean missile launch attempt on Wednesday, with a missile exploding within seconds of its launch, News.com.au reports.

“US Pacific Command detected what we assess was a failed North Korean missile launch attempt ... in the vicinity of Kalma,” Commander Dave Benham, a spokesman for US Pacific Command, said.

“A missile appears to have exploded within seconds of launch,” Benham said, adding that work was being carried out on a more detailed assessment.

South Korea’s defence ministry said it was also aware of the missile launch failure, two weeks after Pyongyang launched four rockets in what it called a drill for an attack on US bases in Japan.

“South Korea and the United States are aware of the North Korean missile launch,” said a spokesman for Seoul’s defence ministry, adding they “suspect it was a failure”.

The ministry did not identify the type of missile used in the test.