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North Korea test-fired two ballistic missiles on Wednesday, a day before Harris visited South Korea and one before she left Washington on Sunday. |
The military of South Korea claims that North Korea has launched at least one ballistic missile toward its eastern seas.
On Thursday, the launch occurred just after U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris left South Korea, her final stop on a four-day trip around Asia during which she reaffirmed the U.S. resolve to protect its allies against growing North Korean threats.
The third wave of North Korea's missile launches this week occurred on Thursday. A day before Harris visited South Korea and one before she left for Washington on Sunday, North Korea conducted two ballistic missile tests on Wednesday.
As she stressed the "ironclad" U.S. commitment to the security of its Asian partners in the face of a North Korea that is growing more hostile, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris concluded her four-day tour to Asia on Thursday with a stop at the Demilitarized Zone separating the Korean Peninsula.
Following North Korea's most recent missile launches and amid worries that it could perform a nuclear test, the visit is taking place. For American politicians looking to demonstrate their willingness to stand tough against aggression, visiting the DMZ has almost become a ritual.
While Harris was in Japan on Wednesday, North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles, and one more before Harris departed Washington on Sunday. The missile tests this year have reached a record high as a result of the launches, which are meant to bring North Korea one step closer to being recognized as a fully functional nuclear power.
Harris proceeded to the top of a ridge at the DMZ, close to watchtowers and surveillance equipment. A South Korean officer pointed out military facilities on the southern side as she peered through large binoculars. An American officer then pointed us to some of the defenses, such as claymore mines and barbed-wire fences, along the military demarcation line. He claimed that American soldiers frequently patrol along a trail on foot.
It's really close, added Harris.
“The past and present are happening every day”
Harris next went to one of a group of blue buildings that crosses the line of demarcation, where an American officer described how talks with North Korea are still held there. He claimed that occasionally they use a megaphone and other times they transmit messages back and forth.
Harris jokingly said, "That's high tech," before stating, "We've walked into history."
The colonel stated, "It's still continuing."
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US Vice President Kamala Harris, center left, near the North Korean border at the truce village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in Paju, South Korea, on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022. |
Harris concurred. Every day, the past and present interact.
She then made her way outside and toward the dividing line. Two individuals on the North Korean side peered out from behind a curtain in a second-floor window while wearing what looked like hazmat suits. They subsequently vanished back inside.
The United States and South Korea are still committed to the "full denuclearization" of the North, according to Harris, who defined the North Korean missile launches as provocations intended to "destabilize the area."
She stated, "I cannot emphasize enough that the United States' commitment to the defense of the Republic of Korea is unshakeable.
"We observe a healthy democracy in the South. We witness a horrible tyranny in the North," she declared as she boarded a U.S. military chopper to cross the border.
“Peace and stability”
At an earlier meeting, Harris restated the United States resolve to protect the South with the full breadth of its military power in the event of a conflict, according to Yoon Suk Yeol's office.
They voiced alarm about North Korea's nuclear war threats and promised a harsher reaction to significant North Korean provocations, such as a nuclear test, with no specifics.
In order to improve their trilateral collaboration with Washington in the area, Harris, and Yoon were also anticipated to talk about fostering new business and technological alliances and mending lately frayed ties between South Korea and Japan. Both parties reiterated their support for "peace and stability" in the Taiwan Strait during their meeting, according to Yoon's office, which didn't provide any details. Their discussion also included Taiwan.
The purpose of Harris' travel was for her to attend the state burial of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, but the security concerns that dominated her schedule were a result of worries about China's rising influence and North Korea's increased testing.
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US Vice President Kamala Harris looks towards the north side of the border from an observation post as she visits the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in Paju, South Korea, on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022. |
Harris made an effort to allay any concerns that the United States was reneging on its promise to defend its friends by referring to its alliances with South Korea and Japan as the "linchpin" and "cornerstone" of its Asian military policy.
Yoon, who assumed office earlier this year, ran on a platform of strengthening Seoul's economic and security ties with Washington in order to navigate the challenges posed by the North Korean threat and deal with potential supply chain risks brought on by the pandemic, the U.S.-China conflict, and Russia's conflict in Ukraine. However, there has recently been strain inside the partnership.
South Koreans have criticized a new rule signed by President Joe Biden that forbids electric vehicles produced outside of North America from qualifying for government subsidies in the United States, harming the competitiveness of automakers like Hyundai, which has its headquarters in Seoul.
According to Yoon's office, Harris informed Yoon that Washington will make an effort to resolve South Korean concerns once the bill is put into effect.
The conflict over electric vehicles has quickly grown into a tempest that U.S. policymakers cannot ignore, according to Scott Snyder, an expert at the Council on Foreign Relations, though there might not be an easy fix.
According to Snyder, "it's assuming a level of urgency that's turning it into a political problem that demands to handle." I'm not sure how simple it will be for the Biden administration to do that.
After meeting, Yoon, Harris—the first female vice president of the United States—held a roundtable discussion on gender equity concerns with other female leaders.
Yoon has come under fire for his downplaying of larger disparities and the underrepresentation of women in administration.
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In this handout image provided by the South Korean Defense Ministry, The U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan (C) and South Korean warships are seen during a US-South Korea combined naval exercise on September 29, 2022, in the East Sea, South Korea. |
Harris brought up gender equity and told Yoon that it was important if we were to promote democracy.
There are signs that North Korea may soon increase its weapons displays in an effort to persuade Washington to recognize it as a nuclear state. Last week, South Korean officials claimed to have found evidence that North Korea was getting ready to test a ballistic missile system that could be launched from submarines.
The South Korean military said Thursday that the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan would train with South Korean and Japanese warships in waters near the Korean Peninsula on Friday as part of the first trilateral anti-submarine operations between the three nations since 2017.
North Korea may be preparing for its first nuclear test since 2017, according to authorities in the United States and South Korea. According to Seoul's intelligence service, such a test may occur after China's Communist Party gathering, which will take place the week of October 16, but before the United States midterm elections on November 8.
Threats of nuclear war have often followed North Korea's testing program. This month, its rubber-stamp parliament approved the deployment of nuclear weapons in a wide variety of situations when its leadership is threatened.
As a result of differences in lifting severe U.S.-led economic sanctions against the North in exchange for the North's disarmament actions, nuclear diplomacy between the U.S. and North Korea has been inactive since 2019.
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