North Korea launches a submarine-based ballistic missile (again)

The audacious ballistic missile tests from The Hermit Kingdom continue.

According to South Korea's Yonhap news agency, North Korea has reportedly fired a submarine-based ballistic missile off the country's eastern coast near the city of Sinpo at approximately 5:30 a.m. local time.

According to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, the launch appears to be an apparent protest against the ongoing military drill between Seoul and Washington.

According to South Korea's UN ambassador, Oh Joon, North Korea has conducted 13 rounds of ballistic missile tests and has fired 29 various rockets.

Meanwhile, China, Pyongyang's closest ally, said North Korean missile tests have expanded since the bilateral decision between Seoul and Washington to deploy THAAD.

Mad about THAAD

In July, the South Korea defense ministry announced that the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile-defense system would be deployed to Seongju, in order to counter North Korean threats.

As one of most advanced missile-defense systems in the world, THAAD interceptors are able to identify and obliterate incoming enemy threats both inside and outside of the atmosphere.

In conjunction with the approximately 28,500 US forces in South Korea, Seoul plans to have the unique air-defense system operational by the end of 2017.

US Army Gen. Charles Jacoby, former commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), stressed the importance of deploying THAAD to protect the Korean peninsula and US interests.

"The truth of the matter is, THAAD was really the logical choice and after intense debate and trying to assess what the complexities of the environment might hold to include the perceptions that the Chinese might have, we really can't get in a world where we refuse to defend ourselves," Gen. Jacoby added.

Similarly during a discussion at the Brookings Institution CIA Director John Brennan said that the deployment of THAAD to the region was an "obligation" on behalf of the US.

"We have certain obligations to our partners and the region so that the appropriate steps are taken to reassure our friends, partners, and allies of US commitment to the security of that area," CIA Director John Brennan told Business Insider.