SEOUL, Oct. 20 -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has test-fired a projectile, believed to be an intermediate-range Musudan ballistic missile, but it appeared to have failed, Yonhap news agency reported on Thursday.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) was quoted as saying that the DPRK launched what is believed to be a Musudan missile at about 7:00 a.m. local time (2200 GMT on Wednesday) near an airport in the country's northwestern North Pyongan province.

The launch appeared to have failed, the JCS said without elaborating further.

The failed launch came less than a week after the DPRK test-launched a Musudan missile from the same place last Saturday. The Oct. 16 launch ended in failure as the missile exploded soon after its liftoff.