A North Korean missile “blew up almost immediately” on its test launch on Sunday, the U.S. Pacific Command said, hours before U.S. Vice President Mike Pence was due in the South for talks on the North’s increasingly defiant arms program.

The failed launch from the east coast, ignoring admonitions from major ally China, came a day after the North held a military parade in its capital marking the birthday of its founding father, Kim Il-sung, who is the grandfather of current leader Kim Jong-un. During that parade, the country appeared to display new ballistic missiles.

Pence is due in Seoul at the start of a 10-day trip to Asia in what his aides said was a sign of the U.S. commitment to its ally in the face of rising tension over North Korea.

A U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier strike group is also heading for the region.

President Donald Trump was briefed on the launch, White House sources told NBC News.

“The president and his military team are aware of North Korea’s most recent unsuccessful missile launch. The president has no further comment,” Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said in a statement.

The North has warned of a nuclear strike against the United States if provoked. It has said it has developed and would launch a missile that can strike the mainland United States but officials and experts believe it is some time away from mastering the necessary technology.

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