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Surprise, North Korea Is In Trouble Again

by Camille Bautista

North Korea has been urged to quit it with the "provocative activities" after launching 25 short-range rockets into the sea. The rocket launch appears to be in protest of ongoing, annual military drills carried out by the United States and South Korea. Technically the country is well within its rights to fire rockets toward the Sea of Japan, since short-range tests are considered routine, but the U.S. State Department and a fuming South Korea have noted they're closely monitoring the situation.

A South Korean spokesperson said they're looking into the notoriously reclusive country's intentions, since, as it happens, North Korea launched some more short-range missiles earlier this month as the joint military exercises began. North Koreans have previously voiced their discontent with the annual drills, seeing them as a threat to the country's security.

Of course, North Korea thinks its actions are all well and good, with its government telling state-run media that "it is justifiable self-defense behavior for us to conduct these military exercises in order to preserve peace in the region and to protect the safety of our people and our country," according to CNN. Pyongyang also said the rocket firings are part of regular training and preparation for an invasion.

Unfortunately, North Korea doesn't have too clean of a track record. Lest we forget, North Korea has conducted nuclear tests and launched a long-range rockets in recent years; both actions are banned under international rules. Earlier in the month, South Korean officials also said a North Korean artillery launch occurred just minutes before a Chinese commercial plane carrying more than 200 people flew in the same area, so it's safe to say there's plenty of room for concern.