Following her controversial trip to Taiwan, US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to visit the border zone separating South Korea from North Korea on Thursday (4), a Seoul government source said.
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Pelosi, who arrived in Seoul on Wednesday evening, is expected to visit the “demilitarized zone” (DMZ), the source said. If the visit happens, Pelosi would be the top US official to pass through the border town of Panmunjom since Donald Trump in 2019. At the time, Trump, who was the U.S. president, met in the locality with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
During a meeting with South Korean National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo, Pelosi spoke about North Korea’s nuclear weapons programs. The two “expressed concern over North Korea’s growing threats,” according to a joint statement. North Korea has carried out a record number of weapons tests this year.
Read also: China fires ‘multiple’ ballistic missiles during exercises, Taiwan says
Pelosi and the Speaker of the South Korean Parliament advocated a “strong and prolonged deterrence against North Korea.” They also expressed support for their governments’ efforts to achieve Pyongyang’s denuclearization. The U.S. representative is expected to talk by phone with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is on vacation this week, according to government sources.As part of her Asia trip, Pelosi made a less than 24-hour visit to Taiwan, which China considers part of its territory.
The trip sparked outrage from Beijing, which on Thursday began the largest military exercises around the island in decades.
