United Nations: The United Nations Security Council on Friday condemned North Korea's failed ballistic missile launch, warning that it was a "clear violation" of UN resolutions and the council could take further punitive measures against Pyongyang.
Experts believe North Korea attempted to launch an intermediate-range ballistic missile on Friday in defiance of UN sanctions. "The members of the Security Council strongly condemned the firing of a ballistic missile by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on April 15," the council said in a statement, using North Korea's official name.
"Although the DPRK's ballistic missile launch was a failure, this attempt constituted a clear violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions," it said.
The launch, on North Korea's so-called Day of the Sun which marks the birthday of the country's founder Kim Il-sung, followed its fourth nuclear test in January and a long-range rocket launch in February, which led to new UN sanctions. The council said it "would continue to closely monitor the situation and take further significant measures in line with (its) previously expressed determination."
US defence officials also said it was an embarrassing setback in what was reportedly the inaugural test of a new, powerful mid-range missile.
"It was a fiery, catastrophic attempt at a launch that was unsuccessful," said Capt Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman. He said US officials are still assessing, but it was likely a road-mobile missile, given that it was launched from a location not usually used for ballistic missile launches, on the country's east coast. South Korea's Yonhap news agency carried an unsourced report that a "Musudan" missile, which could one day be capable of reaching far-off US military bases in Asia and the Pacific, exploded in the air a few seconds after liftoff.
