According to the US Pacific Command, the North Korean missile "blew up almost immediately," adding that its type is yet to be identified.
The North Korean Foreign Ministry said that the alleged missile launch had not been announced officially, though it's Pyongyang's "sovereign right" to conduct such tests.
"There was a question concerning claims of our recent missile launch, but officially it has not been announced. Even if it look place, it's a normal process in the course of improving the ability of our country's nuclear deterrent forces, there is nothing surprising in it. Such things are not necessarily published in press," the ministry's deputy head of the European department said.
The missile test launch by Pyongyang has been highly anticipated this week as North Korea celebrates one of the most important holidays which used to coincide with the country's test launches.