https://ift.tt/rJ6wkP1. Vice President Kamala Harris condemned North Korea’s “brutal dictatorship” and “destabilizing” weapons program during a Thursday visit to the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas.
Harris’s DMZ stop came less than a day after North Korea fired two short-range missiles, adding to what has already been a record number of North Korean launches this year.
At the Panmunjom Truce Village that straddles North and South Korea, Harris condemned the missile tests, saying they are “clearly a provocation.”
“In the North, we see a brutal dictatorship, rampant human rights violations and an unlawful weapons program that threatens peace and stability,” she said.
Harris earlier Thursday met with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, a conservative who has pushed to improve ties with the United States.
“Our shared goal, the United States and the Republic of Korea, is a complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” Harris said, using South Korea’s official name.
Harris’ visit is meant to reiterate the U.S. commitment to defend South Korea. About 28,000 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea, a legacy of the 1950s Korean War, which ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty.
At the DMZ, Harris greeted U.S. service members, listened to a briefing by senior military officials, and peered into the North using large black binoculars — a staple of many DMZ visits by U.S. presidents and vice presidents.