South Korea tries to respond to North with own launch but sparks panic as missile test fails

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said that it was investigating what caused ‘abnormal flight’ of missile

South Korea has issued an apology after one of four ballistic missiles – fired in a supposed show of strength towards North Korea – malfunctioned late on Tuesday, blowing up and raining debris down on the coastal city of Gangneung.

North Korea had conducted its own successful test launch earlier in the day, an intermediate ballistic missile that was fired directly over one of Japan’s main islands for the first time since 2017.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said that it was investigating what caused the “abnormal flight” of its missile, which comes amid major joint live-fire drills with the US military.