North Korea

The barrage of eight missiles test-fired over 35 minutes extends a streak in weapons demonstrations this year that U.S. and South Korean officials say may culminate with a nuclear test explosion.

After saying there were no cases, officials on May 12 announced an outbreak. But without an adequate supply of tests, some say North Korea is "flying blind." And it still doesn't have vaccines.

The isolated East Asian country has only stated how many people have fevers daily, and has only identified a few of the cases as COVID-19 since admitting to an outbreak of the omicron variant.

Pyongyang has conducted 16 missile test launches this year. Seoul and Washington are on alert for a possible new test launch, timed to coincide with President Biden's visit starting Friday.

North Korea has confirmed 15 more deaths and high numbers of fevers as it mobilizes more than a million health and other workers to try to suppress the country's first COVID-19 outbreak.

While the scale of the outbreak isn't known, it could have serious consequences because the country has a poor health care system and its 26 million people are believed to be mostly unvaccinated.

North Korea is marking a key state anniversary Friday with calls for stronger loyalty to Kim Jong Un, but there was no word on an expected military parade amid heightened international tension.

The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called the South Korean defense minister a "scum-like guy" for talking about preemptive strikes on the North.

The launch comes six days after North Korea conducted its first intercontinental ballistic missile test since 2017 in an apparent attempt to pressure on the Biden administration amid stalled talks.

North Korea's Kim Jong Un vows to develop more powerful means of, days after the country's first intercontinental ballistic missile launch in more than four years

Experts say the North's fast pace in testing activity shows its dual goal of advancing its weaponry and applying pressure on Washington over a deepening freeze in nuclear negotiations.