Vice President Kamala Harris will visit the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea on Thursday, according to U.S. and South Korean officials.
Harris will tour sites at the DMZ, meet with service members, and receive an operational briefing from U.S. commanders, according to a White House official.
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The visit was announced by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo of South Korea during a meeting with Harris in Tokyo and confirmed by the White House in a statement.
The highly symbolic stop demonstrates the United States’s strong commitment to peace and security on the Korean Peninsula, Han said. “We are working with you and U.S. in dealing with North Korea,” he added.
Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, has said his country will “never give up” its nuclear weapons, according to the state media. Han has described the hermit kingdom as an imminent threat.
During the visit, Harris “will reflect on the shared sacrifice of tens of thousands of American and Korean soldiers who fought and died together, and will reaffirm that the U.S. commitment to the ROK’s defense is ironclad,” the White House said in a statement.
“The visit 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,” the statement added.
Harris is leading a delegation of U.S. officials to Japan for the state funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and is also meeting with Indo-Pacific leaders in Tokyo and South Korea on security and economic issues as North Korea continues to threaten its neighbors with missile launches.
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“The United States alliance with the Republic of Korea is the linchpin of security and prosperity,” Harris told Han. “We take that relationship seriously.”
