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During a visit to the inter-Korean border on Thursday, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said North Korea was a country with a “brutal dictatorship,” an illegal weapons program and rampant human rights abuses, and delivered unusually strong criticism.
During his first visit to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that separates the two countries, Harris said the heavily armed border area was a clear reminder of the “distinct paths” taken by both sides.
“In the North, we have seen brutal dictatorships, rampant human rights abuses and illegal weapons programs that threaten peace and stability,” Harris said.
“The United States and the world seek a stable and peaceful Korean peninsula where North Korea is no longer a threat,” she said, referring to the initials of the country’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
read more: ‘Let’s talk, open dialogue and…’: Nancy Pelosi on US vs China after Taiwan visit
Harris arrived in the South Korean capital, Seoul, and entered the demilitarized zone earlier on Thursday amid regional tensions over North Korea’s missile launch and China’s actions in the Taiwan Strait.
Harris’ visit to South Korea, a staunch ally of the United States, comes amid fears that North Korea is about to conduct a nuclear test. North Korea has completed preparations for its seventh nuclear test since 2006 and its first since 2017, South Korean officials said.
Harris and South Korean President Yoon Se-yeol held talks and condemned North Korea’s intensified nuclear rhetoric and a series of missile tests, the most recent of which took place on Wednesday.
“They condemned North Korea’s provocative nuclear rhetoric and ballistic missile launches,” the White House statement said. “They discussed our response to potential future provocations, including through trilateral cooperation with Japan.”
The White House said Harris and Yoon reiterated their shared goal of complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
Harris also reiterated the U.S. commitment to deterrence to its Asian allies, including “the full range of U.S. defense capabilities.”
Yoon’s office said he and Harris had agreed to immediately implement “jointly prepared countermeasures” if North Korea moved forward with serious provocations such as a nuclear test. It doesn’t elaborate.
North Korea earlier this month enshrined its right to use a pre-emptive nuclear strike in a new law. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said it is developing nuclear weapons and missiles to fend off U.S. threats.
On the Taiwan issue, Harris stressed that efforts to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait are “essential elements of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the White House said.
Aides to U.S. President Joe Biden have been strengthening coalitions to govern China in the region, including Taiwan.
But Yoon told CNN in an interview that aired Sunday that North Korea is more likely to provoke in the event of a conflict in Taiwan, an issue that Seoul and Washington should focus on first.
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