\nTOKYO, 27 Sep: In meeting after meeting with Asian leaders Tuesday, Vice President Kamala Harris emphasized the U.S. commitment to regional security and the White House disclosed that she would visit the Demilitarized Zone dividing the rival Koreas.
\nAn official said Harris would tour the border area between South and North Korea on Thursday, at the end of her trip to Asia. The visit comes amid persistent concerns about North Korea\u2019s missile and nuclear programs.
\nNorth Korea test-fired a short-range ballistic missile shortly before Harris left Washington, an apparent response to joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea that include the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan.
\nU.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the DMZ in August, and former President Donald Trump went in 2019 when he met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
\nHarris\u2019 plan, which had been kept under wraps by her team, was unexpectedly revealed during a meeting with South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Tuesday. A White House official rushed to confirm details of her trip afterward.
\nThe official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Harris \u201cwill tour sites at the DMZ, meet with service members and receive an operational briefing from U.S. commanders.\u201d
\nShe will also \u201creflect on the shared sacrifice of tens of thousands of American and Korean soldiers who fought and died together\u201d in the war that divided the peninsula seven decades ago.
\nAccording to the White House, Harris also talked with Han about South Korea\u2019s complaints about the Inflation Reduction Act, which makes electric cars built outside of North America ineligible for government subsidies.
\n\u201cThey pledged to continue to consult as the law is implemented,\u201d the White House said.
\nSecurity concerns have dominated Harris\u2019 public remarks during her meetings in Tokyo, where she\u2019s attending the state funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated in July.
\nWhile sitting down with Han, Harris said the U.S. alliance with South Korea is the \u201clinchpin of security and prosperity\u201d in the region.
\n\u201cWe stand with you in the face of threats,\u201d she said.
\nAfterwards, Harris met with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, telling him their countries share a \u201ccommon goal and bond as it relates to our dedication to peace and security.\u201d
\nThe conversations follow Harris\u2019 meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday, shortly after arriving in Tokyo.
\nDuring that encounter, Harris described the U.S. alliance with Japan as \u201ca cornerstone of what we believe is integral to peace, stability and prosperity\u201d in the region.
\nLike the abrupt disclosure of Harris\u2019 trip to the DMZ, the meeting with Kishida was also marked by confusion. His staff tried to usher reporters out of the room while Harris was still speaking. The commotion drowned out some of her remarks, making it hard for her office to finalize a transcript of her exact comments.
\nIn addition to concerns over North Korea, there\u2019s been increased tension involving Taiwan, the self-governing island that China views as part of its territory.
\nPresident Joe Biden recently said that the U.S. would send troops to defend Taiwan if China attacked. Wang Yi, China\u2019s foreign minister, said Saturday that any attempt to prevent reunification with Taiwan would be \u201ccrushed by the wheels of history.\u201d (AP)<\/p>\n
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TOKYO, 27 Sep: In meeting after meeting with Asian leaders Tuesday, Vice President Kamala Harris emphasized the U.S. commitment to regional security and the White House disclosed that she would visit the Demilitarized Zone dividing the rival Koreas. An official said Harris would tour the border area between South and North Korea on Thursday, at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-201552","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201552\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}