North Korea fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) off its east coast on Saturday, but the missile failed in its initial flight stage, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.
The missile was fired from waters southeast of the coastal port city of Sinpo, South Hamgyong Province, at around 11:30 a.m., according to the military.
"The SLBM was ejected from the submarine normally, but (we) estimate the initial flight was unsuccessful," the JCS said in a brief press release.
"Our military strongly denounces such provocative acts by North Korea," the JCS noted.
North Korea's ballistic missile launches are direct violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions, including its Musudan missile launches on June 22 and the latest launch, the military said.
Military sources said the latest SLBM appears to have exploded at an altitude of some 10 kilometers after being fired from a submerged 2,000-ton Sinpo-class submarine.
The missile flew only a few kilometers before the presumed explosion, they said.
South Korea's military said that North Korea has achieved progress in the initial undersea ejection stage of its SLBM technology.
The North is probably in the flight test stage of its SLBM before moving onto the final test phase that will require the missile to hit targets, the sources said.
The North may be ready to deploy its SLBMs for service in about three years, according to the military.
The latest launch came less than three months after the communist country's previous SLBM test fire ended in failure.
The sea-based missile, launched on April 23 from the East Sea, broke into several pieces in mid-flight after flying some 30 kilometers, military officials have said.
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