Story highlights Missile was launched near Kalma, on North Korea's east coast

It comes four days after Pyongyang announced it tested a new rocket engine

(CNN) A North Korean missile fired Wednesday exploded "within seconds of launch," according to US Pacific Command.

US officials confirmed North Korea had attempted to launch a missile near Kalma, on the country's east coast, but early reports suggest it failed.

"South Korea and the US are aware of the missile launch and to their knowledge North Korea's missile was not successfully launched," South Korea's Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

Neither the US nor South Korea have released information on what type of missile was fired, or why it failed. The US Pacific Command said it was working with partners to assess it further.

At a daily press briefing Wednesday, China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying again called on all parties on the Korean Peninsula, including South Korea and the United States, to "exercise restraint."