Report: North Korea has launched an unidentified missile – but it exploded after launch

North Korea announced on Wednesday the launch of an unidentified missile, but the launch apparently failed immediately after its launch, the South Korean military said.

Reuters reports that a missile was launched from the Sunan area near Pyongyang but it exploded before reaching a height of 12 miles. The U.S. Army Pacific Command has announced that a ballistic missile has been launched.

Following previous launches, Pyongyang announced that it was preparing to launch a military observation satellite. But Seoul and Washington believe it is an experimental launch of the Wassong-17 which is an intercontinental ballistic missile and its launch serves as a cover for the launch of the military satellite into space.