Editor's Note: The following is an internal Stratfor document designed to provide high-level guidance on increased North Korean rocket and missile activity to our analysts. This document is not a forecast but rather a series of guidelines for understanding and evaluating events, as well as suggestions on areas for focus. The pace and scope of North Korean missile and rocket launches over the past few months have notably intensified from normal training cycles. North Korea has tested several missile systems at several launch sites, sometimes testing the same system at different locations, other times testing several systems at the same location. Much has been made of the political symbolism of North Korea's launches. Some analysts highlight the timing: Tests have come just before Chinese President Xi Jinping visited South Korea, or at the same time as U.S.-South Korean defense exercises.