US vice president to visit Korean Demilitarized Zone this week

ANKARA (AA) – US Vice President Kamala Harris will visit the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) dividing the two Koreas during her visit to South Korea on Thursday, local media reported on Tuesday.

The visit was confirmed by South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo after his meeting with Harris in Tokyo where the two leaders arrived to participate in the state funeral for former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who was assassinated in July during an election campaign, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Harris will visit the South Korean and North Korean border just days after Pyongyang test-fired a short-range ballistic missile on Sunday.

The South Korean premier said the US vice president’s visit to DMZ is a "symbolic" move for the South Korea-US alliance, according to the agency.

Earlier, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also visited the DMZ in August during her visit to South Korea.

On Monday, the US and South Korea also started joint naval exercises, a day after North Korea fired another short-range ballistic missile.

During the four-day combined exercises in the East Sea, the allies mobilized over 20 vessels, an American aircraft carrier, and South Korean warships.

The US nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan also arrived in the South Korean waters on Friday to join the combined exercises.

* Writing by Islamuddin Sajid