According to White House officials, Kamala Harris will visit the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between North Korea and South Korea. South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo revealed the detail during a meeting with Harris on Tuesday.
“I think your visit to DMZ in Seoul is a real — a very symbolic demonstration of your strong commitment to the security and peace on the Korean Peninsula,” the Prime Minister said. “And we are working with you and U.S. in dealing with North Korea when they actually made very public that they will be aggressive in using nuclear power. So, you know, it was very rare that some country is actually making explicit how they will use nuclear — you know, nuclear ambitions in such an explicit way.”
American Military News reports:
Han’s comment came ahead of the White House’s own plans to announce the visit. During a background press briefing later on Tuesday, a White House official said, “We typically wouldn’t announce that that far in advance for a variety of reasons. But we are obviously planning to announce that today, and we are happy to announce that. And as you saw in the statement we put out shortly after, we are prepared to announce that.
Another White House official provided more details about Harris’ planned visit, telling Axios it will “underscore the strength of the U.S.-ROK Alliance, and the United States’ commitment to stand beside the ROK in the face of any threats posed by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).”
“The Vice President will tour sites at the DMZ, meet with service members, and receive an operational briefing from U.S. commanders,” the official added, according to Axios.
“We know there’s been a lot of discussions with the Koreans about extended deterrence commitments,” the official added. “And to really put those words into action, we believe it’s a powerful signal of that.”
For years, North Korea has been aggressive toward the United States. After the hermit nation launched eight short-range missiles toward the East Sea from Sunan near Pyongyang, the U.S. joined North Korea in strengthening its deterrence and defense posture.
