(LEAD) N. Korea's attempted missile launch failed: JCS

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with more info; ADDS photo)

SEOUL, April 16 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's attempted missile launch Sunday ended in failure, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.

The communist state attempted to launch an unidentified missile from its eastern coastal city of Sinpo in the morning, and the launch is presumed to have failed, the JCS said.

"We are now analyzing the type of the missile and other details," a JCS official said, declining to be named.

On April 5, Pyongyang fired off what was thought to be a KN-15 medium-range ballistic missile from the Sinpo area. It flew some 60 kilometers before falling into the East Sea.

Seoul officials said the missile launched Sunday could be the same type as the one fired earlier this month.

The missile launch attempt came amid rising tensions with the United States that is sending an aircraft carrier strike group to waters off the Korean Peninsula to deter potential North Korean provocations, such as a nuclear test.

On Saturday, the North staged a massive military parade to mark the 105th birthday of its national founder Kim Il-sung, where it unveiled three intercontinental ballistic missiles to send a message that it would not yield to U.S. military pressure.

sshluck@yna.co.kr
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