US military claim North Korea missile launch fails at liftoff

A man watches a TV news program showing a file image of a missile launch conducted by North Korea, at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, October 16, 2016. (Photo by AP)

US military sources claim that North Korea has unsuccessfully fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile.

The United States Strategic Command’s systems detected what is believed to have been a Musudan missile launch, which failed in liftoff near North Korea’s northwestern city of Kusong, the Pentagon said in a statement on Sunday.

The US military said the launch would not have posed a threat to North America.

South Korean military sources also reported the failed liftoff of the missile at 0333 GMT on Saturday. Seoul did not speculate on the reason for the failed launch, either.

The reported incident coincides with the last day of the joint military drills between South Korea and the United States.

The five-day joint naval drill called “Invincible Spirit 2016” kicked off on Monday (October 10) in the waters surrounding the Korean Peninsula, according to the South Korean Defense Ministry.

The USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier is escorted into Busan port, South Korea, after completing a joint drill with the South Korean navy in the southern waters off the Korean Peninsula, October 16, 2016. (Photo by AP)

The USS Ronald Reagan nuclear-powered aircraft carrier took part in the military drill.

North Korea has been testing different types of missiles at an unprecedented rate this year, and the capability to mount a nuclear warhead on a missile is especially worrying for its neighbors South Korea and Japan, as well as the United States.