Reports from South Korea say the North has again tested a banned missile, with the launch ending in failure.
South Korean media reports say the rocket is a powerful, intermediate-range model called the Musudan.
Four other missiles tested in the last two months are reported to have either exploded mid-air or crashed.
North Korea, which is pursuing a nuclear weapons programme, is banned by UN resolutions from any use of ballistic missile technology.
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Surrounding countries had detected preparations for a launch in the past few days and warned that it was about to happen.
North Korea is thought to have about 50 of them but has yet to demonstrate that they actually work, the BBC's Korea correspondent, Steve Evans, reports.
North Korea's opponents had watched with trepidation as a truck with the missile was moved into a launching position.
Japan said it would shoot it down if its trajectory was over the country.
The failure illustrates the technological difficulties North Korea faces as it develops a nuclear arsenal and the means to attack distant targets, our correspondent says.
Repeated testing also illustrates a determination to succeed, he adds.
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