North Korea has fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) but it failed mid-flight, says the South Korean military. The ICBM launch, the North korea’s seventh this year, sparked an alert in Japan, but fell short, landing in the sea. Tensions are escalating amid fears the North will soon conduct a nuclear test. North Korea’s multiple launches comes as the US and South Korea are staging their largest-ever joint air drills, which Pyongyang has strongly criticised as “aggressive and provocative”.
