A North Korean missile launch attempt early on Tuesday morning appears to have failed, a South Korean military official told Reuters.

The launch attempt took place at around 5:20 a.m. Seoul time (2020 GMT), said the official, who asked not to be identified, without elaborating. South Korea's Yonhap News Agency said the attempted launch appeared to have been of an intermediate-range Musudan missile.

Japan put its military alert on Monday for a possible North Korean ballistic missile launch, state broadcaster NHK reported. – Reuters