SEOUL, South Korea — A suspected hypersonic missile launched by North Korea exploded in flight on Wednesday, South Korea’s military said, as North Korea protests the regional deployment of a U.S. aircraft carrier for a military drill with South Korea and Japan. The North Korean missile was launched at about 5:30 a.m. and was aimed toward the North’s eastern waters before the failure, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. South Korea said North Korea launched large balloons carrying trash across their border Tuesday night for the sixth time since late May. North Korea says it is responding to balloons launched by South Korean activists that carried political leaflets into the North. Also Wednesday, South Korea and the U.S. flew 30 advanced fighter jets as part of joint drills this week.
