South Korean army soldiers pass by a TV news program showing a file footage of a missile launch conducted by North Korea at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 15, 2016. A North Korean launch of a missile on the birthday of its revered founder appears to have failed, South Korean and U.S. defense officials said Friday. The letters at a screen read: "North Korea launched a missile from its east coast." (AP Photo/Ahnn Young-joon)
South Korean army soldiers pass by a TV news program showing a file footage of a missile launch conducted by North Korea at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 15, 2016. A North Korean launch of a missile on the birthday of its revered founder appears to have failed, South Korean and U.S. defense officials said Friday. The letters at a screen read: "North Korea launched a missile from its east coast." (AP Photo/Ahnn Young-joon)

Seoul, South Korea — A North Korea missile launch meant to celebrate the birthday of the country’s founder ended in failure, U.S. defense officials said Friday, an embarrassing setback in what was reportedly the inaugural test of a new, powerful mid-range missile.

“It was a fiery, catastrophic attempt at a launch that was unsuccessful,” said Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman.

He said U.S. officials still are assessing, but it likely was a road-mobile missile, given that it was launched from a location not usually used for ballistic missile launches, on the country’s east coast. South Korea’s Yonhap news agency carried an unsourced report that a “Musudan” missile, which could one day be capable of reaching far-off U.S. military bases in Asia and the Pacific, exploded in the air a few seconds after liftoff.

A U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters told The Associated Press that it appeared to be a Musudan missile but no definitive conclusion had been reached.

Despite the failure, the North has another Musudan loaded on a mobile launcher and Pyongyang will likely fire it, according to South Korean and U.S. authorities, Yonhap reported.

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, speaking to reporters during a stop on the USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier in the South China Sea, said that while the U.S. deemed the launch to be unsuccessful, it “was nonetheless another provocation by North Korea in a region that doesn’t need that kind of behavior.”

The launch comes as the two Koreas trade threats amid Pyongyang’s anger over annual South Korean-U.S. military drills that North Korea calls a rehearsal for an invasion. The North recently has fired a slew of missiles and artillery shells into the sea in an apparent protest against the drills.

The surge in belligerent rhetoric and nuclear and missile activity in the North also might be linked to leader Kim Jong Un’s preparations for a major ruling party meeting next month that analysts believe he will use to further solidify his autocratic rule.

Some believe that Kim may try to use the country’s claims of recent nuclear and missile success as a way to turn domestic focus toward tackling the country’s abysmal economy.

A senior U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the official wasn’t authorized to comment publicly, said the U.S. Strategic Command systems have detected and tracked what officials assessed as a failed North Korean missile launch.

“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,” the official said.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command said the missile launched from North Korea did not pose a threat to North America.

The South’s Defense Ministry said it wasn’t immediately known whether the missile was a short-range or mid-range missile.