N Korea missile exploded shortly after lift-off: Seoul

An explosion almost immediately after launch was behind the failure of North Korea's latest test-firing of a powerful medium-range missile, the South Korean military confirmed on Monday.

North Korea tested a Musudan missile - capable of hitting US bases as far away as Guam - shortly after midday on Saturday near an air base in the northwestern city of Kusong.

Such launches are usually reported within a few hours or even minutes by South Korean and US military monitors, but the news of Saturday's test only came out around 16 hours after the event.