North Korea missile launch fails day after military parade

North Korea has failed to launch a missile on its east coast, South Korean and US military officials say, a day after Pyongyang warned the US amid rising tension in the region.

The US said a ballistic missile exploded within seconds of the launch.

Hours earlier, North Korea paraded what appeared to be long-range ballistic missiles at a major military display.

It has already conducted five nuclear tests and a series of missile launches in contravention of UN resolutions.

The latest development comes as US Vice-President Mike Pence heads to the South Korean capital, Seoul, where he is expected to discuss the best way to deal with North Korea's missile and nuclear programmes.

"North Korea attempted to test an unidentified type of missile from [its eastern port of] Sinpo," the South Korean defence ministry said, adding that the launch on Sunday had "failed".

The ministry said that it was investigating for further details.

North Korea frequently tests missiles, in contravention of UN resolutions. The success rate has been improving but its record is still hit and miss. This failure underlines that Saturday's huge parade in Pyongyang of rows and rows of missiles of different types does not mean the country yet has an effective nuclear arsenal.

Recently, the US has reacted minimally to news of North Korean military exploits. This might be taken as "the time for words is over, now is the time for action". But what action?

The US is aware of the potential cost of attacking North Korea, given that Seoul is within easy range of North Korean artillery. And China would be unlikely to stand aside if an attempt were made to topple Kim Jong-un (though the US has said that regime change is not an aim).

So what action might President Trump take? Only he knows the answer to that - or perhaps he does not.

'Threat to whole world'

On Saturday, North Korea marked the 105th anniversary of the birth of its founding president, Kim Il-sung, with a huge military parade in Pyongyang amid speculation that current leader Kim Jong-un could order a new nuclear test.

The event, which appeared to include new intercontinental and submarine-launched ballistic missiles, was a deliberate show of strength.

"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.