North Korea fires missiles hours after Harris ends visit to South Korea

kamala harris and Yoon Suk-yeol photo
(Image credit: Handout / Handout/Getty Images)

North Korea fired its third round of missile launches this week hours after Vice President Kamala Harris wrapped up her visit to South Korea, The Associated Press reports.

The Thursday launch of two short-range ballistic missiles was just the latest in a series of weapons tests intended to pressure the U.S. government into acknowledging North Korea as a nuclear power.

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Per AP, some fear North Korea might soon conduct a nuclear test to garner the acknowledgment they seek.

In addition to the Thursday launch, North Korea also fired two short-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday, while Harris visited Japan, and one before she initially left the U.S. on Sunday.

South Korean officials have also detected evidence suggesting North Korea has plans to escalate its weapons demonstrations even further. For instance, officials suspect North Korea is preparing "to test a ballistic missile system designed to be fired from submarines," AP writes.

Theara Coleman, The Week US

Theara Coleman has worked as a staff writer at The Week since September 2022. She frequently writes about technology, education, literature and general news. She was previously a contributing writer and assistant editor at Honeysuckle Magazine, where she covered racial politics and cannabis industry news.