N Korea Test Fires Missiles Aimed At US Ego

Claiming that country's military could impose "merciless punishment" on those who provoke it, North Korea has test-fired ballistic missiles capable of destroying key government and military targets in South Korea.

The launches on U.S. Independence Day appeared aimed to poke at Washington as it moves to enforce U.N. as well as its own sanctions against the isolated country for its May 25 nuclear test.

North and South Korea, which fought a 1950-53 war, still face off across the world's most heavily fortified border. The United States, South Korea's key ally, has 28,500 troops stationed in the country as a deterrent.

Reportedly the missiles appear to have traveled about 250 miles (400 kilometers), meaning they could have reached almost any point in South Korea.

. Last month, the North threatened a "thousand-fold" military retaliation against the U.S. and its allies if provoked.

The both countries are likely to waste their valuable resources on weapons and jingoistic propaganda in coming days. These resources very well could be utilized for education, health and advancement of human resource there but destruction seems to possess hypnotic force here.