Japan condemns North Korea's failed missile launch

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's top government spokesman said on Thursday Tokyo condemns North Korea's failed missile launch and is lodging a stern protest against Pyongyang for the action. His comment comes after U.S. Strategic Command said a failed attempt by North Korea to launch a missile was detected at 2200 GMT on Wednesday from the northwestern city of Kusong, adding it was presumed to be a Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile. "The Japanese government is protesting to North Korea through our embassy in Beijing, while condemning it strongly," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a regular news conference. North Korea, which conducted its fifth nuclear blast on Sept. 9, is already under heavy international sanctions over its missile and nuclear tests. (Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)