South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff(JCS) says the North fired a ballistic missile in the northeast direction from near the Pukchang region in South Pyongan Province at around 5:30 Saturday morning, but the missile exploded minutes after the launch.

The missile is estimated to have flown to an altitude of up to 71 kilometers.

The South Korean and U.S. military authorities are analyzing the type of missile fired and its flight distance.

The two authorities had been closely monitoring the North as it had been expected to test-fire a missile or conduct a nuclear test.

The missile launch was the sixth this year and came only 13 days after its last launch on April 16th.

The South Korean military is maintaining its full readiness posture while closely keeping an eye on the possibility of additional provocations by the North.

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