North Korea has apparently test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile in the Sea of Japan but the test was a failure, a news agency report says.

Yonhap news agency quoted a South Korean government official as saying that the missile, KN-11, was fired between 2.20pm and 2.40pm.

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“The North appears to have failed in its launch,” said the official on condition of anonymity, according to Yonhap.

“The missile was not seen flying in the air, only debris from its coverings was spotted”, he said.

A South Korean defence ministry spokesman refused to comment on the report.

If confirmed, it would mark the first time since May that the North has fired such a missile. Leader Kim Jong-un then oversaw an allegedly successful test-launch of what the North said was “a strategic submarine ballistic missile”.