anna jung in punsan, south korea. >>> well, as we've been reporting, the japanese government says north korean officials tried to launch a missile within the last few hours. but the launch appears to have failed. at a news conference in tokyo, the defense minister indicated that the north korean launch may have failed. >> all right. at a separate news conference, government officials told reporters that the projectile was headed south. they added that if it was launched it may have separated into several pieces. meanwhile, the japanese government officials told nhk that the u.s. army detected a heat signature around the launch pad in north korea, but they have not found any corresponding evidence of a flight route. the officials say north korea may have failed to launch the missile or the heat reaction may have been misdetected. abc news in the u.s. quoted government officials who said 90 seconds after the launch, the rocket exploded and fell into the ocean. a u.s. official says north korea's launch has failed and an