N Korea fires missile, launch appears to have failed: S. Korea

SEOUL. KAZINFORM - North Korea fired a missile Tuesday but the launch appears to have failed, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

The launch of the missile, fired at around 5:20 a.m. from Wonsan on the country's east coast, came a day after Japanese government sources said there had been activities in North Korea indicating Pyongyang was preparing to fire a ballistic missile, possibly an intermediate-range Musudan, Kyodo reports.
The Japanese Defense Minister on Monday ordered the Self-Defense Forces to prepare to intercept any possible missile fired by North Korea.
On the same day South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff also suggested there had been indications that North Korea may launch a missile, saying it was closely tracking any missile-related signs and maintaining a high state of readiness.
Yonhap News Agency reported that there were indications a Musudan missile was being mounted on a mobile launch pad near Wonsan.
The latest launch comes in the wake of three botched attempts to launch what are believed to be Musudan missiles since April 15.
The Musudan has an estimated range of between 2,500 and 4,000 kilometers, which would enable it to reach not only any target in South Korea or Japan, but also potentially U.S. military facilities on the Pacific island of Guam.