North Korea attempted to fire a missile from its east coast on Tuesday but the launch appears to have failed, South Korean officials said, the latest in a string of unsuccessful ballistic missile tests by the isolated country.

"We've agreed that we can by no means tolerate North Korea taking a posture of continuing its nuclear and missile development," Kimihiro Ishikane, director general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, told reporters.

"We've also agreed on stepping up pressure on North Korea to resolve the issues," he said.