April 28 (UPI) — North Korea launched a projectile on Saturday but the test ended in failure, according to the U.S. Pacific Command.
“U.S. Pacific Command detected what we assess was a North Korea missile launch at 10:33 a.m. Hawaii time April 28,” the statement read. “The ballistic missile launch occurred near the Pukchang airfield.”
@PacificCommand statement on #NorthKorea missile launch
The message added the missile “did not leave North Korean territory.”
According to CNN, the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff said it is “analyzing additional information” while the military maintains a “thorough defense posture while keeping a close eye on the possibility of North Korea’s further provocations.”
The White House confirmed President Donald Trump was briefed of the missile on Air Force One as he returned from a meeting of the National Rifle Association.
The provocation prompted Trump to condemn Pyongyang on Twitter.
“North Korea disrespected the wishes of China & its highly respected President when it launched, though unsuccessfully, a missile today. Bad!” Trump tweeted.
North Korea disrespected the wishes of China & its highly respected President when it launched, though unsuccessfully, a missile today. Bad!
According to a U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff official, the missile was a medium-range KN-17.
Perhaps owing to the failure of the launch, the test was not publicized on state television in North Korea, CNN’s correspondent in Pyongyang reported.
The launch came only hours after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson condemned North Korea at a special session of the United Nations Security Council, and as the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson was making its way to the Korean peninsula.
Yonhap news agency reported the missile was launched at an angle of 49 degrees in a northeasterly direction, and if successful it could have landed in waters off the coast of Primorsky Krai, the maritime province of the Russian Far East.
North Korea has experienced a string of failed missile tests.
Last week, CNN reported public statements and Congressional testimony show the United States has been trying to hack into North Korea’s missile capabilities.
Some breaches have been successful, former British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind told the BBC.
