Donald Trump has accused North Korea of "disrespecting the wishes of China" following its latest ballistic missile test.

China is the North's main trading partner and the US president has been urging Beijing to try to rein in the reclusive state's military activities.

South Korea said Kim Jong-Un's regime had fired the rocket from around Pukchang, which is near the North's capital, Pyongyang.

Seoul and Washington said it had apparently failed shortly after its launch.

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A US official said it was likely to have been a medium-range KN-17 missile, which appeared to have broken up within minutes but did not leave North Korean territory.


It is believed to have reached a height of 44 miles, and was the third unsuccessful test in recent weeks.

The US leader wrote on Twitter: "North Korea disrespected the wishes of China & its highly respected President when it launched, though unsuccessfully, a missile today. Bad!"

Speaking in London about the latest developments, Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe said North Korea threatened world stability and posed a grave threat to his country.

He called on the international community to show solidarity against the rogue state.

He said: "Despite strong warnings by the international community, North Korea today went through its ballistic missile launch.

"It is a grave threat to our country. This is absolutely not acceptable. We strongly condemn such acts."

Mr Trump has warned there is a chance of a "major, major conflict" with North Korea due to rising tensions over its nuclear ambitions and missile tests.

North Korea disrespected the wishes of China & its highly respected President when it launched, though unsuccessfully, a missile today. Bad! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 28 April 2017

The US president said he would "love to solve things (the North Korean problem) diplomatically but it's very difficult".

And at the UN meeting in New York, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urged the Security Council to put economic and diplomatic pressure on Pyongyang.

He said it was only a "matter of time" before the communist state was capable of hitting mainland America with a nuclear weapon.

Cheers as N Korean leader watches live-fire drills

Speaking after the meeting, North Korea's deputy ambassador to the UN said the country's nuclear weapons would never be part of "political bargains and economic deals".

"In a nutshell, DPRK have already declared not to attend any type of talks which would discuss its nuclear abandonment, nuclear disbandment," Kim In Ryong said.

He added that the nuclear programme "is the product of the United States' hostile policy towards DPRK".

'North Korea is a liability to China, not an asset'

South Korea has warned if the international community does not respond to the North's repeated provocations now, "we will only further feed the appetite of the trigger-happy regime in Pyongyang".