Roundup: S. Korean president convenes security meeting after DPRK's failed missile launch

South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Thursday convened this year's third security council meeting after the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) fired a mid-range ballistic missile, which Seoul's military said appeared to have failed.

The DPRK launched what was believed to be a Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile at about 6:40 a.m. local time from the Wonsan area in the DPRK's east coast, South Korea's defense ministry said.

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

The projectile flew up just hundreds of meters, detected by U.S. reconnaissance satellite but not seen in South Korean military's radar, according to Yonhap news agency reports. It was estimated to have crashed in waters off the east coast as it disappeared several seconds after take-off.

On April 15 when the DPRK test-fired a Musudan missile for the first time, the missile also exploded in mid-air several seconds after liftoff.

The DPRK had allegedly sent two Musudan missiles to the Wonsan area. There has been no more Musudan missile found in the region, according to Yonhap report.

The Musudan missile, known to be capable of hitting part of the U.S. territory such as Guam and the outer reaches of Alaska, has been deployed by the DPRK since 2007.

The missile is considered especially threatening as it is fired from a mobile launcher, making it hard to detect and track in times of military conflicts. It can also carry a nuclear warhead.

The failed Musudan launches raised concerns about the DPRK's fifth nuclear test to offset the abortive test-firings.

President Park Geun-hye chaired the National Security Council meeting in the afternoon, the third of its kind in 2016. The first meeting was convened after Pyongyang's fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6, and the second meeting came in the wake of the north's long-range rocket launch on Feb. 7.

Park said in her introductory remarks that signs of the DPRK's fifth nuclear test being imminent are being detected ahead of the seventh party convention.

The DPRK announced its plan to hold the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) congress on May 6, the first since 1980. The country was widely expected to detonate another atomic bomb ahead of the historic party event.

During the third meeting, Park said the DPRK has escalated nuclear threats by conducting a series of provocations, including the showcasing of what it claimed was a nuclear warhead, the engine test of re-entry vehicle and the test-launch of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM).

Pyongyang on Sunday announced its successful launch of a ballistic missile from a submarine, which Seoul's military said has partially advanced in technology. The missile traveled about 30 km, indicating an initial stage of development.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS), South Korea's spy agency, told lawmakers at a closed-door meeting on Wednesday that the DPRK has actually completed preparations for another nuclear detonation at its main nuclear test site where all of its four nuclear tests were staged.

Park warned that the DPRK would face a totally different situation from before if the country, which has been under tougher-than-ever UN Security Council sanctions over its fourth nuclear test, conducts another nuclear test that is a blatant challenge and provocative act toward the international community.

The DPRK seemed to have an intention of being accepted as a nuclear state from the international society and cementing the regime domestically by conducting another test, Park said, but additional test will make Pyongyang face much stronger sanctions and lead to the deepening of diplomatic isolations. Endit