Harris and Yoon denounce North Korea nuclear talk

• US and South Korean leaders condemn missile test, as Seoul says a provocation also depends on Taiwan tension

US vice-president Kamala Harris and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on Thursday condemned North Korea’s intensifying nuclear rhetoric and weapons tests, a day after the isolated country conducted the latest in a series of missile tests.

Harris met with Yoon after arriving in the South Korean capital, Seoul, on Thursday amid simmering regional tension over North Korea’s missile launches and China’s actions in the Taiwan Strait.

The visit by Harris to staunch US ally South Korea comes amid fears that North Korea is about to conduct a nuclear test. South Korean officials say the North has completed preparations for its seventh nuclear test since 2006, and its first since 2017.

“They condemned the DPRK’s provocative nuclear rhetoric and ballistic missile launches,” the White House said in a statement, referring to its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. “They discussed our response to potential future provocations, including through trilateral cooperation with Japan.”

Harris and Yoon reaffirmed a shared goal of the complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, the White House said.

Harris also reaffirmed a US extended deterrence commitment to its Asian ally, including “the full range of US defence capabilities”, it said.

Yoon’s office said if the North pushed ahead with serious provocations such as a nuclear test, both sides agreed to immediately implement “jointly prepared countermeasures”. It did not elaborate.

North Korea codified its right to use pre-emptive nuclear strikes in a new law early in September.

On Taiwan, Harris underscored that efforts to preserve peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is an “essential element of a free and open IndoPacific”, the White House said.

US President Joe Biden’s aides have been shoring up alliances to manage China in the region, including over Taiwan.

But Yoon told CNN that in a conflict over Taiwan, North Korea would be more likely to stage a provocation and that the alliance should focus on that concern first.

Later on Thursday, Harris made her first visit to the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas, which aides said was intended to show unwavering US security commitment to South Korea.

The demilitarised zone, seen as the world’s last Cold War frontier, has existed since the 1950-1953 Korean War ended in an armistice with no peace deal.

The trip by Harris took on urgency after North Korea fired two short-range missiles off its east coast on Wednesday, the second test since Sunday, while South Korea and the US are holding naval exercises involving an aircraft carrier.

The South Korean and Japanese navies said they will hold trilateral antisubmarine exercises with US forces on Friday, designed to improve their capability to counter evolving North Korean threats, including its submarine-launched ballistic missiles. The drills involve warships including the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, the USS Chancellorsville guided missile cruiser, the USS Barry guided missile destroyer, South Korea’s Munmu the Great destroyer and Japan’s Asahi tanker.

Harris said in Japan, the first stop on her Asian tour, that North Korea’s missile launches are part of an “illicit weapons programme which threatens regional stability”.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said the country is developing nuclear weapons and missiles to defend itself against US threats.

HARRIS REAFFIRMED AN EXTENDED DETERRENCE COMMITMENT, INCLUDING THE FULL RANGE OF DEFENCE CAPABILITIES

HARRIS AND YOON DISCUSSED CHANGES IN US SUBSIDIES WHICH SOUTH KOREA FEARS COULD DISADVANTAGE ITS CARMAKERS

Harris and Yoon also discussed changes in US electric vehicle subsidies which South Korea fears could disadvantage its carmakers.

Harris met a group of South Korean women leaders including Choi Soo-yeon, CEO of internet service provider Naver; actress Youn Yuh-jung, who won an Oscar; Kim Yuna, an Olympic figure-skating champion; and novelist Kim Sagwa.

A White House official said the women “made strides in building a more inclusive and equitable society”.