VP Harris caps Asia trip with stop at DMZ dividing Koreas
Source: AP
By CHRIS MEGERIAN
PANMUNJOM, Korea (AP) — U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris capped her four-day trip to Asia with a stop Thursday at the Demilitarized Zone dividing the Korean Peninsula as she emphasized the “ironclad” U.S. commitment to the security of its Asian allies in the face of an increasingly hostile North Korea.
The visit comes on the heels of North Korea’s latest missile launches and amid concerns that the country may conduct a nuclear test. Visiting the DMZ has become something of a ritual for American leaders hoping to show their resolve to stand firm against aggression.
North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday, while Harris was in Japan, and fired one before she left Washington on Sunday. The launches contribute to a record level of missile testing this year that is intended to move North Korea closer to being acknowledged as a full-fledged nuclear power.
At the DMZ, Harris went to the top of a ridge, near guard towers and security cameras. She looked through bulky binoculars as a South Korean officer pointed out military installations on the southern side. Then an American officer pointed out some of the defenses along the military demarcation line, including barbed-wire fences and claymore mines. He said American soldiers regularly walk patrols along a path.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, center left, stands next to the demarcation line at the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, in Panmunjom, South Korea Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022. (Leah Millis/Pool Photo via AP)
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