South Korea: North Korea missile launch failed

Seoul, South Korea (CNN)North Korea attempted to fire a missile from its eastern coast Friday, but the launch ended in failure, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The statement from South Korea's military did not specify what sort of missile was part of the test. The attempt involved an intermediate-range Musudan missile, according to South Korean media reports.

The launch effort came on the birthday of Kim Il Sung, the founder of North Korea on the holiday, known as "Day of the Sun."

"If the reports are true, and this mobile missile launch attempt did fail, it would be a major disappointment for the North Korean regime because it is happening on the most significant holiday of the year," said CNN's Will Ripley from Pyongyang.

No official announcement had been made about the test within the country, Ripley said. Based on past failures, it was unlikely one would ever be made.

"Most North Koreans will never know that it happened," Ripley said.

Will RipleyVerified account‏@willripleyCNN

No official word of apparent failed missile launch here in #Pyongyang. If true, big disappointment for #NorthKorea on Day of the Sun holiday

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5:20 PM - 14 Apr 2016

A U.S. defense official said a North Korean missile launch had failed at 4:33 p.m. ET Thursday, after the U.S. Strategic Command systems detected and tracked the attempt. At this time, there was "no evidence the missile reached flight," a U.S. official told CNN's Barbara Starr.

A U.S. State Department official said: "We have seen the reports. We are closely monitoring the situation."

"We call again on North Korea to refrain from actions and rhetoric that further raise tensions in the region and focus instead on taking concrete steps toward fulfilling its international commitments and obligations."

Earlier this week, 38 North released satellite images it said showed Pyongyang was preparing for a missile launch.

The images are said to show small vehicles, a support building and portal.

Earlier this week, U.S. intelligence satellites spotted signs that North Korea may have been preparing to launch a mobile ballistic missile. Officials had told CNN that if the regime proceeds with a launch, the most likely scenario is the launch of the Musudan missile, which the U.S. believes could potentially hit Guam and perhaps Shemya Island in the outer reaches of Alaska's Aleutian chain. But U.S. officials also cautioned the regime could decide to do nothing.

Tensions have ratcheted up on the divided Korean Peninsula this year as Pyongyang has made a series of assertions about developments in its military capability.

Pyongyang carried out its fourth nuclear test in January, and had said it succeeded in miniaturizing nuclear warheads to fit on medium-range ballistic missiles -- which unnamed U.S. intelligence analysts say is probably true.