Washington
CNN
—
Vice President Kamala Harris will visit Korea Demilitarized zone who is dividing North and South Korea on Thursday as part of his visit to South Korea, a White House official said.
Harris’ trip will include site visits in the DMZ, meetings with service members and an operational briefing from U.S. commanders, the official said, reiterating the U.S.’s commitment “to stand with” the South Korea facing “any threat” posed by North Korea.
Harris, the official added, “will reflect on the shared sacrifice of tens of thousands of U.S. and Korean soldiers who fought and died together, and will reaffirm that the American commitment to the defense of the Republic of Korea is ironclad.”
The DMZ is a 160 mile long no man’s land about 30 miles north of Seoul that was established in the Korean War Armistice Agreement of 1953. It is often described as the most heavily armed border in the world.
News of Harris’ visit first came during a bilateral meeting between her and South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, according to reporters traveling with the vice president as she leads a US delegation. in Japan for the state funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
“I believe your visit to the DMZ and Seoul will be a very symbolic demonstration of your strong commitments to security and peace on the Korean Peninsula and we are working with you and the United States to deal with South Korea. North,” the prime minister told Harris, according to a pool report.
The prime minister’s unexpected announcement seemed to take reporters and White House aides by surprise. An official later confirmed the shutdown to reporters.
Last month, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said a congressional delegation had traveled to South Korea and visited the Korean Demilitarized Zone.
Pelosi said the delegation was “honored to be hosted” at a parliamentary meeting “where we reaffirmed our commitment to the U.S.-Korea alliance” and “was delighted to participate in a telephone meeting with the Korean president. Yoon Suk-yeol”.