North Korea was at its belligerent best as it launched multiple ballistic missiles into the waters off the east coast of the Korean peninsula on Sunday, reports said, citing South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The barrage of missiles, numbering eight in a single day, were fired between 9:08 am and 9:43 am local time in Seoul. This brings the total number of ballistic missiles fired in 2022 to 31, marking a record number for a year.

The launches come a day after South Korea and the U.S. wound up three days of combined military exercises involving the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan. This marked the first joint military drill since new South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol took office in May.

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North Koreans have long been opposed to joint exercises on the pretext of they serve as rehearsals for an invasion.

Japan chimed in with a response, saying Pyongyang’s latest test firings are “unacceptable.” It also confirmed that the launches took place at multiple locations and that North Korea has been testing missiles at “unprecedently high frequency” this year.

Photo: Courtesy of Ryan Chan and 李 季霖 on Flickr