Pyongyang, North Korea

North Korea faced a rare failure in the ballistic missile test on Wednesday (June 26), as per South Korea’s military. 

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The test was carried out days after North Korea protested against the US aircraft carrier's regional deployment which was placed for a trilateral military drill with South Korea and Japan.

On Monday (June 24), North Korea’s Vice Defence Minister Kim Kang II called the deployment of US aircraft carrier “reckless” and “dangerous.” 

In a statement, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said that a ballistic missile was launched by North Korea from its capital region around 5:30 am on Wednesday (4:30 pm Tuesday ET). 

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It added that the missile was launched towards the eastern waters of North Korea, however, the launch is likely to have ended in failure.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the details regarding the missile launch by North Korea are being investigated by the South Korean and US intelligence authorities.

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Earlier on Wednesday (June 26), Japan’s defence ministry said that it had detected a suspected ballistic missile which was launched by North Korea.

It was reported by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency that the North Korean missile flew nearly 155 miles.

According to a report by Japanese media, the North Korean projectile fell outside the exclusive economic zone of Japan.

South Korean airport's runways shut amid trash attack

The reported missile launch by North Korea came hours after South Korea alleged that their neighbour country sent another set of huge balloons filled with trash across the border.

In the latest trash attack, South Korea's Incheon International Airport faced disruptions in takeoffs and landings for about three hours before dawn as balloons filled with refuse dropped from the sky, said an airport spokesperson.

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The spokesperson said that one balloon fell on the tarmac near passenger Terminal 2 after which the three runways at Incheon were temporarily closed.

Since late May, North Korea has been sending hundreds of balloons filled with trash into South Korea.

(With inputs from agencies)