North Korea crisis: North in another 'failed' missile launch

Breaking News: North Korea crisis: North in another 'failed' missile launch.

North Korea has test-fired another ballistic missile, South Korean and US military officials say.

The missile exploded shortly after take-off, they said - the second failed launch in the past fortnight.

US President Donald Trump accused North Korea of showing "disrespect" towards China and its president.

The missile was fired from a site in South Pyeongan province, north of Pyongyang, in the early hours of Saturday local time, South Korea said.

It came just hours after the United Nations Security Council discussed North Korea's missile program.

Mr Trump tweeted: "North Korea disrespected the wishes of China & its highly respected President when it launched, though unsuccessfully, a missile today. Bad!"

Mr Trump recently hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping and praised him for "trying very hard" on North Korea.

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North Korea's missile program

Tensions in the region have increased lately, with both North and South Korea conducting military exercises.

North Korea is believed to be continuing efforts to miniaturize nuclear warheads and fit them on long-range missiles capable of reaching the US.

It is not known what kind of missile was unsuccessfully launched on Saturday, however, one official told Reuters it was probably a medium-range missile known as a KN-17.

The land-based, anti-ship ballistic missile has already had two failures, but its message is that US, South Korean and Japanese ships should beware.

Meanwhile, an American aircraft carrier - the USS Carl Vinson - has reportedly arrived in the region after it was sent to the Korean peninsula as part of Mr Trump's "armada".

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JSC) said in a statement that the "unidentified missile" was fired "from a site in the vicinity of Bukchang in Pyeongannam-do (South Pyeongan Province)" early on Saturday.

Commander Dave Benham, a spokesman for US Pacific Command, also said the launch had occurred near the Bukchang airfield.

He added that the missile did not leave North Korean territory.

'A clear challenge'

After Saturday's failed launch, the Japanese government condemned the test and said it had lodged a strong protest with North Korea through its diplomatic channels.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is currently in London, said it was a "clear challenge against the international community".

He added: "Since it is fully conceivable that there'll be possibility for further provocation, we'd like to maintain a close co-ordination with the United States, our ally, to maintain a high status of alert. We'd like to be watertight to ensure safety for our citizens."

Hours earlier, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had called on the rest of the world to help force North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions.

Mr Tillerson warned of "catastrophic consequences" if the Council did not act, saying it was "likely only a matter of time before North Korea develops the capability to strike the US mainland".

The US would use military force if necessary, he said.

Mr Tillerson accused Council members of not fully enforcing existing sanctions against the North, and called on China in particular to use its trade links as influence.

But Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the key to solving the problem did not lie with his country.

How else has tension risen?

Among other developments in recent weeks:

North Korea carried out an earlier failed missile launch and held a massive military parade in an apparent show of strength

The US deployed a group of warships and a submarine to the region

Pyongyang reacted angrily, threatening a "super-mighty pre-emptive strike"

The US began installing a controversial $1bn (£775m) anti-missile system called Thread in South Korea - which Mr Trump said South Korea should pay for. Seoul said on Friday there was "no change" in its position that the US would pay for it

Mr Tillerson and US Vice President Mike Pence visited South Korea, reiterating that "all options were on the table" in dealing with the North

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North Korea marks anniversary with massive artillery drill

Breaking News: North Korea marks the anniversary with massive artillery drill.

North Korea's military staged a "large-scale artillery drill" in the country's east Tuesday to mark the founding of the country's army.

A statement from the South Korean military said the live-fire exercises were underway in the Wonsan region on Tuesday afternoon but gave no details on what kinds of weapons and military units took part in the drill.

"Our military is closely monitoring the North Korean military's movements and remains firmly prepared," the statement from the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff says.

North Korea's drills coincided with military exercises held by US and South Korean navies in the Yellow Sea, off the western coast of the Korean Peninsula.

Earlier Tuesday, a US submarine made a port call in South Korea in what US officials said was a show of force amid mounting tensions in the region.

The drills were held as the country commemorated the 85th anniversary of the founding of North Korean army, a significant date in the country's calendar.

A CNN team in North Korea said citizens in the streets of Pyongyang were celebrating Armed Forces Day, with no visible signs of tension.

In a statement after the artillery drills were confirmed, the South Korean President's Office said an emergency meeting had been held to discuss the situation.

Separately, envoys from South Korea, Japan, and the US have been meeting in Tokyo to discuss North Korea's refusal to abandon its nuclear program.

Message to Seoul?

Alex Neill, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies Asia, told CNN the artillery drill was likely to be a message to Seoul.

"It's important for the DPRK to remind the South that very large swathes of the South Korean population are within artillery range of the North," he said, using the official name for North Korea.

"So it is a sign that if the North is provoked or there is preemptive action, then a lot of Seoul and its suburbs would be within artillery range of the North."

Neill said nuclear and chemical weapons could also be delivered via artillery strikes.

"As (North Korea has) one of the largest stockpiles of chemical weapons, again artillery can be used for that. Sarin gas doesn't have to be dropped," he said.

Trump: North Korea is 'a real threat'

Relations between North Korea and the US and South Korea have deteriorated in recent months, as the rhetoric and military posturing on both sides has increased.

Fears have mounted in recent weeks that North Korea could soon conduct a sixth nuclear test or another missile launch.

On Monday, US President Donald Trump said the status quo with nuclear-armed North Korea was unacceptable, calling for new sanctions on the country.

"This is a real threat to the world, whether we want to talk about it or not," Trump said at a lunch for ambassadors of countries who sit on the Security Council.

"North Korea's a big world problem, and it's a problem we have to finally solve. People put blindfolds on for decades and now it's time to solve the problem."

The Trump administration has taken the unusual step of calling the entire US Senate to a meeting at the White House, for a briefing on North Korea with the US secretaries of Defense and State.

Some analysts voiced concerns Trump was backing himself into a corner with his fierce rhetoric on North Korea, leading both countries to a point where "bad things are going to happen."

USS Vinson deployed as tensions build

Earlier this month, the Trump administration announced it would be sending the USS Vinson, an aircraft carrier, to the Korean Peninsula after US officials said they anticipated a fresh round of nuclear tests and missile launches.

Its deployment was met with threats by the North Koreans.

State-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun said over the weekend in an editorial the country could sink a "nuclear-powered aircraft carrier with a single strike."

North Korea held an enormous military parade held to celebrate the anniversary of the birth of the country's founder, Kim Il Sung on April 15.

Prior to the celebrations, satellite images had shown the rogue state could be preparing for another nuclear test.

In the end, no nuclear test was held that day, but a performance on the Day of the Sun still showed a propaganda video where missiles struck the United States and a US flag was left in flames.