U.S. defense officials have told NBC News that North Korea’s missile launch last Sunday was a success.
 
Citing the unnamed officials, NBC said the KN-17 missile’s reentry into the atmosphere was controlled and it did not burn up. The missile landed in the sea near Russia.
 
According to NBC, the officials characterized the launch as an advance in the North’s missile program.
 
The KN-17, NBC said, is a liquid fuel single-stage missile. In state media, North Korea said it’s a medium long-range ballistic rocket that can carry a heavy nuclear warhead.
 
A day after the test, Pyongyang said the launch of the ground-to-ground strategic ballistic rocket, which it calls a Hwasong-12, was a success. 

Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said any military solution to the North Korea crisis would be "tragic on an unbelievable scale" and Washington is working to find a diplomatic solution with the international community.

In a news conference on Friday at the Defense Department, Mattis said the U.S. will continue to work with the U.N., South Korea, China and Japan to try to find a way out of the situation.

Reuters news agency said that Mattis' remarks are one of the clearest indicators yet that the Trump administration will seek to exhaust alternatives before turning to military action to force Pyongyang's hand. 

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