Here's A Photo Of Kim Jong-Un "Guiding" An Early Morning Missile Launch

James Pearson, a Reuters correspondent covering North and South Korea, tweeted this image with the caption: "Extraordinary image of Kim Jong Un watching ballistic missile launch on front page of today's main North Korean paper."

The Associated Press reports that the North Korean leader "guided the test launches of tactical ballistic rockets aimed at U.S. and South Korean forces, the second such launch drill reported in state media in three days."

Seoul considers the launches, which flew about 310 miles into international waters, to be provocations since the North fired the missiles without designating a no-sail zone. The peninsula is still technically in a state of war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice and not a peace treaty.

The staged scene, purely for domestic consumption, fits the impoverished country's glorification of war.

South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok told reporters that it was difficult to conclude the purpose of Sunday's launches.