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North Korea Reportedly Fires Ballistic Missile Off East Coast

22 June 2016 00:13 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. According to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency, the DPRK has fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile from its eastern coast, APA reports quoting Sputnik..

"The launch appears to have failed," said an official with South Korea's Defense Ministry.

South Korean and U.S. Marines participate in the U.S.-South Korea joint landing exercises called Ssangyong, part of the Foal Eagle military exercises, in Pohang, South Korea, Monday, March 31, 2014

"The North launched an unidentified missile from areas near Wonsan at around 5:58 am," said the Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to Yonhap.

Reports surfaced earlier on Tuesday that Pyongyang had deployed a projectile to its east coast, though it was unclear if it was intended for launch.

"We have detected signs that the North has depoyed what appears to be a Musudan missile," Yonhap said, citing a South Korean government source.

The DPRK has test fired a number of ballistic missiles in recent months. These have been condemned by the United Nations, with the US, South Korea, China, and Russia urging Pyongyang to tone down the tests. Harsh new sanctions were put in place in response to earlier tests.

Pyongyang has also claimed to have developed a miniaturized nuclear warhead that could, theoretically, be launched with an intercontinental missile.