South Korea has apologised after a missile it launched malfunctioned and crashed to the alarm of residents of Gangneung.
The country scared its own civilians when the rocket failed soon after launch and hit the ground in a miltary base inside the coastal city during the joint exercise with the US on Tuesday.
South Koreans believed they were under attack from the North - with the neighbouring state causing tension when it tested its own artillery by firing a missile over Japan earlier in the week.
The launch had been designed as a show of strength after North Korea’s first test since January.
Footage showed a ball of flames rising from the area in Gangneung after the crash.
Nobody was hurt in the incident, although officials took several hours to comment on the event - which caused further confusion among the local population.
The first Korean Hyunmoo-2 missile failed shortly after launch but a second test of the same system was successful, South Korean authorities said. The Hyunmoo-2 is key to the South’s defence system against the North’s weaponry - which is based on a Russian model.
The US held its own missile test, successfully firing four of its devices.
The country has also redeployed its own aircraft carrier to South Korea's east coast, following the ballistic missile test by North Korea. Japanese authorities ordered evacuations on Tuesday after the event.
Both the US and South Korea have also been firing missiles into the yellow sea - which is to the Korea’s west, while Gangneung is in the east.
South Korea apologised to Gangneung locals and said the "abnormal flight" of the rogue missile was being investigated.
