The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) fired a long-range rocket Friday morning, but the launch appears to have ended in failure, the South Korean defense ministry said.

The Unha-3 rocket dropped several minutes after taking off from the Tongchang-ri launch site at 7:39 am (2239 GMT), the ministry said, adding the rocket broke into several pieces before falling into the sea. Reports say the rocket seemed to have landed in waters some 200 kilometers off South Korea's western port city of Gunsan.

The DPRK announced last month it would launch the rocket-mounted Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite between April 12 and 16 to mark the centenary of late DPRK founder Kim Il-sung's birth.

Seoul and Washington, among others, see it as a disguised long-range ballistic missile test that violates a UN Security Council resolution. Seoul and Tokyo have said they will shoot down the rocket if it strays into their territories, while Pyongyang warned of "merciless punishment" for such attempts.

A China Daily reporter in Pyongyang was told that the DPRK will hold an "urgent press conference" this morning. The organizer did not reveal the topic of the press conference, but it was widely believed that it will be about the rocket launch.

Japan says rocket falls after lift-off

Japanese Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka said Friday the rocket that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) launched on Friday morning fell into sea after flying for more than a minute.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura told reporters at an emergency press conference Friday morning that Japan has suffered "no impact of falling objects" from the launch, and the government will hold a meeting to discuss the situation immediately.

"We believe there has been no impact of falling objects" on Japan, Fujimura said at the press conference after it confirmed the launch, and said, "I would like the public to stay calm."

The rocket may have split into 4 parts which fell into the Yellow Sea after reaching 120 km high, local media reported. But there have been no reports of damage in Japan after the DPRK rocket launch, said Fujimura.

Japan had stayed alert over DPRK's planned rocket launch on Friday.It was the second day of a five-day window Pyongyang had planned for the launch.

The Japanese Self-Defense Forces have been on standby since Thursday, prior to DPRK's indicated time window for the launch from 7 am to noon from Thursday to next Monday.

White House: DPRK's rocket launch threatens regional security

The White House said on Thursday that the rocket launch by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) threatens regional security and violates international law.

"Despite the failure of its attempted missile launch, North Korea (the DPRK)'s provocative action threatens regional security, violates international law and contravenes its own recent commitments," the White House said in a statement.

So far, the DPRK has neither confirmed nor denied the launch.

【新闻快讯】朝鲜13日上午7点39分在平安北道铁山郡东昌里的西海卫星发射场发射了“光明星3号”地球观测卫星。但随后据韩美日官方表示，搭载“光明星3号”卫星的“银河3号”运载火箭在发射一分钟之后便分离成碎片坠落，这意味着卫星发射失败。

此次，朝鲜一改往常的“神秘”做法，提前一个月对外公布将发射“光明星3号”卫星的消息，并按照国际规定，事先向国际民用航空组织、国际海事组织、国际电信联盟等机构通报火箭发射地点和大致轨道。朝鲜宇宙空间技术委员会也向美、英、日、中、俄、法等多国家媒体开放了卫星发射场邀请多国宇宙科技部门导师赴朝观摩卫星发射。

韩国宣布将朝发射卫星的举动视为“重大挑衅”，同时，韩国海警11日起进入全面应急状态。美国国务院发言人维多利亚纽兰9日声言，朝鲜发射卫星违反其过去的承诺，将对地区安全带来威胁，被美国视为“挑衅行为”。美国常驻联合国代表赖斯也表示，如果朝鲜“强行发射”卫星，安理会将紧急磋商予以应对。