North Korea's Latest Missile Test Failed 'Within Seconds'

A new North Korean missile test appeared to have ended in failure, according to South Korean and U.S. officials.

Obama, in the Times report, "warned President Trump they were likely to be the most urgent problem he would confront", adding that Kim Jong Un is aware of the USA efforts to sabotage the missile testing, ordering an investigation into whether the US was sabotaging North Korean missile launches.

The launch Wednesday comes a little more than two weeks after Pyongyang test-fired four medium-range missiles into the Sea of Japan, at least one of which flew about 620 miles before dropping into the water.

"North Korea fired one missile from an area near the Wonsan Air Base this morning, but it's presumed to have failed", South Korea's defense ministry said in a statement.

Last week, Tillerson issued the Trump administration's starkest warning yet to North Korea, saying in Seoul that a military response would be "on the table" if it took action to threaten South Korean and US forces.

North Korea conducted two nuclear tests and more than 20 ballistic missile tests in 2016 and its leader Kim Jong Un claimed in a New Year's address that the country is ready to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile, which could reach the United States mainland.

In the last few weeks, the U.S. has held joint military exercises with South Korea which America says are defensive.

They demanded a halt to further launches and tests and urged all countries "to redouble their efforts" to fully implement sanctions against North Korea. They involve strategic nuclear bombers and a nuclear submarine, Columbus, that recently entered South Korean ports, he said.

He denounced joint annual military exercises now being carried out by the United States and South Korea on the divided peninsula and criticised remarks by Tillerson during his talks with regional allies last week.

Earlier this month, David Albright - head of the Institute for Science and International Security think tank - told The Algemeiner that paying attention to any potential nuclear collaboration between North Korea and Iran should be a priority for the Trump administration.

Just last week US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visited Japan, South Korea and China and how to handle North Korea was a major issue in his talks.

Pyongyang has tested several other ballistic missiles already this year, despite being barred from doing so by United Nations Security Council resolutions.

As aerospace engineer John Schilling wrote in January, North Korea's primary space launch vehicle, the Unha-3, "could be pressed into service as a crude ICBM". In his New Year's address in January, he said that North Korea had "entered the final stage of preparation for the test launch of intercontinental ballistic missile".

South Korea has been aware that the North could move ahead with another test at any time since it conducted its last nuclear test in September.