North Korean missile test fails at launch

North Korea military parade — (Image credit: Ed Jones/Getty Images)

One day after celebrating the regime's founding president with a military parade, North Korea conducted an unsuccessful missile test Sunday in which the missile exploded about five seconds after launch.

The test took place in Sinpo, a coastal city from which Pyonyang launched a ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan in early April. The type of missile tested Sunday is presently unknown, though early reports suggest it was not an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of reaching the United States.

"This morning's provocation from the North is just the latest reminder of the risks each one of you face every day in the defense of the freedom of the people of South Korea and the defense of America in this part of the world," Vice President Pence said while speaking to U.S. troops stationed in South Korea on Sunday as part of a previously scheduled visit. "Your willingness to step forward, to serve, to stand firm without fear inspires our nation and inspires the world, and it's an honor for us to share this meal with you today."

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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.