North Korea fired a ballistic missile that failed soon into flight, in an attempted show of force about a week after it struck a military mutual-defense pact with Russia that alarmed the U.S. and its allies. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Read More: Putin and Kim Embrace New Era of Alliance, Signing Mutual Defense Pact in North Korea The missile was launched at about 5:30 a.m.