N Korea defies world pressure

North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile yesterday in apparent defiance of a concerted US push for tougher international sanctions to curb Pyongyang's nuclear weapons ambitions.

The latest launch, which South Korea said was a failure, came just hours after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned the UN Security Council of "catastrophic consequences" if the international community -- most notably China -- failed to pressure the North into abandoning its weapons programme.

Military options for dealing with the North were still "on the table", Tillerson warned in his first address to the UN body.

The launch ratchets up tensions on the Korean peninsula, with Washington and Pyongyang locked in an ever-tighter spiral of threat, counter-threat and escalating military preparedness.

US President Donald Trump, who has warned of a "major conflict" with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un's regime, said the latest test was a pointed snub to China -- the North's main ally and economic lifeline.

"North Korea disrespected the wishes of China & its highly respected President when it launched, though unsuccessfully, a missile today. Bad!" Trump tweeted.

The US is deploying a naval strike group led by an aircraft carrier to the Korean peninsula, and a missile-defence system called Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) that officials say will be operational "within days".

North Korea recently conducted its biggest-ever firing drill and has threatened to "bury at sea" the US aircraft carrier, amid signs it could be preparing for a sixth nuclear test.

South Korea's defence ministry said it suspected the missile test had failed after a brief flight, while the US military's Pacific Command confirmed the rocket did not leave North Korean territory.

China pushed back at Tillerson's call at the UN Security Council for it to do more to rein in Pyongyang, arguing that it was unrealistic to expect one country to solve the conflict.

"The use of force does not solve differences and will only lead to bigger disasters," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.

His country, he said, should not be "a focal point of the problem on the peninsula" and stressed that "the key to solving the nuclear issue on the peninsula does not lie in the hands of the Chinese side".

Russia joined China in appealing for a return to talks and de-escalation. Military action was "completely unacceptable", Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told the council.

But Tillerson argued that diplomacy had to be backed with credible muscle.

Tillerson called on all countries to downgrade or sever diplomatic relations with North Korea and impose targeted sanctions on entities and individuals supporting its missile and nuclear program.

The United States is ready to impose sanctions on third countries where companies or individuals are found to have helped North Korea's military programmes, he said.

China instead wants Pyongyang to freeze its military programmes in exchange for a halt to US-South Korean annual drills.

But Tillerson was blunt in saying it was up to North Korea to take the first concrete steps.

"We will not negotiate our way back to the negotiating table," he said. "We will not reward their bad behaviour with talks."