North Korea Launches Ballistic Missiles in Protest of Military Drills.

North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles towards its eastern waters in protest of the just-ended South Korean-U.S. live-fire drills that it viewed as an invasion rehearsal. The launches are the first by North Korea since it failed to put its first spy satellite into orbit in late May. South Korea and Japan condemned the launches, calling them a "grave provocation" and a "violent action" that threatened international peace and safety. The chief nuclear envoys from South Korea, Japan, and the U.S. held a three-way telephone call and agreed to continue efforts to get North Korea to halt weapons activities and return to talks.