The South Korean military has expressed regret over its botched missile launch during an American-South Korean joint exercise.
The launch had raised alarm and suspicion among citizens in the coastal city of Gangneung.
They reported hearing an explosion and seeing a fire overnight.
Despite having a warhead, the Hyunmoo-2 missile did not explode, according to the military, which also apologized for raising concern.
However, the military didn’t acknowledge the incident on time until about seven hours later, hinting that no casualties was recorded.
The launch was the fifth carried out by Pyongyang in a week.
Many of its missile tests are conducted on a flight path that reaches a high altitude, avoiding flights over its neighbours.
The launch was also in response to North Korea firing a missile over Japan in the early hours of yesterday.
Meanwhile, the South Korean military has also confirmed that one of its missiles had failed soon after it was launched, although this was separate to the ones launched with the US.
The US, Japan, and South Korea, who have been conducting military maneuvers, put on a show of force in response to Pyongyang’s first missile launch over Japan since 2017.
