North Korea's attempt to launch a ballistic missile failed, reports Seoul. North Korea's previous three attempts to test this type of missile also failed.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un together with military leaders at the test site during one of the ballistic missile launches, archive (Photo: Reuters/Pixstream)

The DPRK's ballistic missile launch failed, the South Korean Yonhap agency reported on Tuesday, May 31, citing a statement by the country's Chiefs of Staff Committee.

"North Korea attempted to launch a missile from an area near Wonsan around 05:20 a.m., but we believe the launch was unsuccessful," the statement said.

According to agency sources, we are most likely talking about a medium-range Musudan-type missile. Previously, Pyongyang tried to launch a similar missile three times, one of the attempts was made on Kim Il Sung’s birthday on April 15. However, they all failed .

The Japanese television channel NHK reported that North Korea is preparing another ballistic missile launch. Citing its sources, the TV channel reported that Japanese authorities are on high alert in connection with a possible upcoming missile launch by the DPRK.

Representatives of the South Korean authorities, in turn, said that they are closely monitoring any signs of a possible missile launch and are also on high alert.

The agency, citing South Korean officials, notes that Pyongyang did not notify the UN about upcoming plans to launch the missile.

North Korea fails to launch a ballistic missile again