China condemns North Korea's failed missile launch

BEIJING, April 15 (UPI) -- China's news agency has called North Korea's launch of a missile Friday "ill-advised and unwise."

North Korea had attempted to fire its indigenous ballistic missile Musudan early Friday, but the launch ended in failure, according to the South's joint chiefs of staff.

Beijing's state-owned news agency Xinhua issued an editorial that condemned the launch attempt.

The editorial stated Pyongyang was engaging in an act of "saber-rattling" by trying to launch an intermediate-range ballistic missile.

But Xinhua also criticized the United States for its unsuitable responses to North Korea provocations – a possible reference to the joint military exercises in the South.

"Largely wrought by an alarming lacking of trust between [North Korea] and the United States, its nuclear show of force has blatantly breached the U.N. resolution and betrayed the global aspiration to achieve denuclearization in the Korean peninsula through talks," Xinhua stated.

The failure doesn't mean the end of provocations, according to South Korea military.

The unsuccessful attempt could actually raise the possibility North Korea could launch more missiles, South Korean news service Newsis reported.

Other upcoming events on the North Korea calendar include April 25, the founding of the North Korean People's Army, and the Seventh Party Congress on May 7, which convenes for the first time in three decades.

The next provocation could involve the launch of Pyongyang's intercontinental ballistic missile, the KN-08, or the additional test of nuclear weapons, said a Seoul military source who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The failed launch on Friday could have ended with a midair explosion, owing to problems with the rocket engine, or the leakage of fuel from the device.

A South Korean government source told Yonhap the launch may have failed, but it is in violation of Security Council resolutions because of Pyongyang's use of a ballistic missile.

"Various responses are under review at the U.N.," the official said.