North Korean missile ‘blows up’ on test launch

A North Korean  missile “blew up almost immediately” on its test launch on Sunday, the  U.S. Pacific Command said, hours before U.S. Vice President Mike Pence  was due in South Korea for talks on the North’s increasingly defiant  arms programme.

The failed  launch from North Korea’s east coast, ignoring admonitions from major  ally China, came a day after North Korea held a military parade in its  capital, marking the birth anniversary of the state founder, in which  what appeared to be new long-range ballistic missiles were on display. South Korea said the combined show of force “threatened the whole world”.

Pence  is due in Seoul at the start of a 10-day trip to Asia in what his aides  said was a sign of the U.S. commitment to its ally in the face of  rising tension. 

The U.S. nuclear-powered USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier strike group is also heading to the region. 
A  U.S. Navy attack on a Syrian airfield this month with Tomahawk missiles  raised questions about U.S. President Donald Trump’s plans for  reclusive North Korea, which has conducted several missile and nuclear  tests in defiance of U.N. sanctions, regularly threatening to destroy  the South and the United States.

South  Korea, which hosts 28,500 U.S. troops, warned of punitive action if the  launch led to further provocations such as a nuclear test or a  long-range missile launch. 

“North  Korea showing a variety of offensive missiles at yesterday’s military  parade and daring to fire a ballistic missile today is a show of force  that threatens the whole world,” South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said in a  statement.

 - REUTERS, 16th APRIl, 2017