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Vice President Kamala Harris will visit the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that divides the Korean Peninsula on Thursday as the Vice President’s trip to Asia concludes.
The heavily fortified buffer zone separating North and South Korea is Harris’ last stop on his diplomatic journey. According to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, the gesture of visiting the DMZ is intended to illustrate America’s “solid commitment” to regional security.
The vice president is expected to discuss North Korea’s nuclear threats and Washington’s commitment to assist South Korea with defense measures. Shortly before the visit to the DMZ, Harris met with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and praised the alliance between the United States and South Korea as a “hub of security and prosperity”.
Vice President Kamala Harris shakes hands with South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol ahead of their bilateral meeting in Seoul on September 29, 2022.
(LEAH MILLIS / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)
On Thursday, she and Yoon also discussed South Korea’s economic and technology partnerships with the United States, as well as a roundtable on gender equity.
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The visit comes the day after North Korea launched a third ballistic missile at sea in an act of provocation by Kim Jong-Un. The country has already launched two short-range ballistic missiles during Harris’s stay in Japan.
North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles into the waters off its east coast, escalating tensions one day before Vice President Kamala Harris’ visit to the demilitarized zone dividing the two Koreas.
(SeongJoon Cho / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
North Korea also made a similar gesture in June by firing three missiles ahead of President Biden’s visit to Seoul that month.
Harris condemned North Korea’s “illicit weapons program” during a Wednesday speech at United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka, a US naval base.
Jean-Pierre said North Korea’s missile test “is not unusual” on Wednesday, while saying it won’t dissuade Harris from visiting the DMZ.
“As you know, North Korea has a history of this type of testing,” he said.
Vice President Kamala Harris holds a bilateral meeting with South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo in Tokyo on September 27, 2022.
(Getty Images)
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South Korean activists were seen protesting Harris’ visit near the Seoul presidential office on Thursday. Protesters wore masks showing the faces of Harris and President Yoon as they demonstrated against the US-South Korea alliance.
Activists wear masks showing the faces of Vice President Kamala Harris and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol during a protest against Harris’s visit and the South Korea-US alliance near the Seoul presidential office on September 29, 2022 .
(ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP via Getty Images)
Harris’s visit also drew criticism from Republicans who say they overlooked the migrant crisis on the US-Mexico border.
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Following the visit to the DMZ, Harris will depart from Osan Air Base and return to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
