Story highlights The missile appears to have failed shortly after launch

Washington says commitment to defense of allies "ironclad"

Seoul, South Korea (CNN) North Korea fired a submarine-based ballistic missile off the country's eastern coast Saturday, according to South Korean officials, drawing condemnation from Seoul and Washington.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff and the U.S. Strategic Command said it appears the missile was successfully launched but failed in its early flight stage.

The move comes a day after South Korea and the United States agreed to deploy an advanced military defense system that could intercept North Korean missiles following continued weapons testing by Pyongyang in defiance of U.N. resolutions.

"We strongly condemn North Korea's missile test in violation of U.N. Security Council Resolutions, which explicitly prohibit North Korea's use of ballistic missile technology," said Gabrielle Price, spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department's Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

"These actions, and North Korea's continued pursuit of ballistic missile and nuclear weapons capabilities, pose a significant threat to the United States, our allies, and to the stability of the greater Asia-Pacific," she said.

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