SEOUL, April 28 (Xinhua) — The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Thursday fired what was believed to be a Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile, but it appeared to have failed, South Korea's defense ministry said.

A Defense Ministry official told Xinhua on the phone that the DPRK launched a projectile, estimated to have been a Musudan missile, at about 6:40 a.m. local time from the Wonsan area in northeastern DPRK.

The official said the launch appeared to have failed as the projectile was believed to have crashed several seconds after liftoff.