Staff Reports
North Korea fired two ballistic missiles Thursday, hours after VP Kamala Harris left South Korea.
Pyongyang's third launch in five days continues this year's record-breaking weapons onslaught.
Harris attacked North Korea's "brutal government, pervasive human rights violations, and unlawful weapons program that threatens peace and stability."
She said the US commitment to South Korea's defense is "ironclad" and the partners' reaction to the North's armament programs is "aligned."
Seoul and Washington want "total denuclearization" but are "ready to address any contingency".
At an observation station overlooking North Korea, Harris viewed features and defenses using binoculars.
She said, "It's so close."
Harris visited Panmunjom Truce Village and Camp Bonifas in the JSA.
At Panmunjom, biohazard-suited guards showed Harris the at-war border.
After Pyongyang's Thursday test of two short-range missiles, Seoul "increased monitoring and surveillance."
Yasukazu Hamada: "North Korea's repeated ballistic missile launches can never be tolerated."
Yoon
About 28,500 U.S. troops are in South Korea to protect it from the North, and allies are conducting a large-scale naval rehearsal this week.
North Korea views these drills as invasion preparations.
Pyongyang dubbed Pelosi the "biggest destroyer of international peace" when she visited in August.
After Shinzo Abe's burial, Harris visited Seoul.
Harris met with President Yoon Suk-yeol on Thursday to discuss security issues, but Seoul also raised concerns about a new measure signed by US President Joe Biden that eliminates electric car incentives for foreign-made cars, affecting Hyundai and Kia.
Harris, America's first woman VP, met "groundbreaking women leaders" of South Korea to promote gender equality.
Yoon has been attacked for a paucity of women in his cabinet, despite vowing to eliminate Seoul's Ministry of Gender Equality.
Test nuke?
US and South Korean officials have warned Kim Jong Un for months about another nuclear test.
South Korea's spy agency estimated North Korea's next nuclear test might occur between Oct. 16 and Nov. 7.
North Korea attempts to maximize the geopolitical impact of its nuclear tests despite UN sanctions.
Since 2006, isolated regime has tested nukes six times, most recently in 2017. This month, it called nuclear power "irreversible."
Leif-Eric Easley of Ewha University in Seoul says North Korea's nuclear threat raises questions about Washington's defense promises.
Sending the Reagan and Harris to South Korea displays America's military and political will.
Harris urged Seoul cooperate with Japan on security issues during her tour.
First trilateral anti-submarine drills since 2017 were announced Thursday.
Pyongyang may launch a ballistic missile from a submarine, South Korean officials said.
The preceding is a summary of an article that originally appeared on NEWSMAX.
