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Kamala Harris in South Korea day after North fires ballistic missiles
US vice president Kamala Harris arrived in South Korea a day after the North fired two short range ballistic missiles off its east coast, the BBC reported.
Harris is due to wind up her four-day trip to Japan and South Korea with a visit to the Demilitarized Zone, a stretch of land that lies between the two Koreas, in the afternoon after holding talks with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.
She pledged on Thursday (Sep 29) to reinforce the strength of her country's alliance with South Korea, a day after North Korea test-fired ballistic missiles.
South Korea and Japan officials have condemned the "provocations".
The South Korean Joint Chiefs said in a statement: "North Korea's provocations will further strengthen the South Korean-US deterrence and response capability, and only deepen North Korea's isolation from the international community.”
On Wednesday (Sep 28), Harris addressed US troops at a military base in Japan where she condemned Pyongyang's recent launches and its "illicit weapons programme which threatens regional stability".
This week's launches - the earlier one was on Sunday before the naval drills began - are the first since early June, but North Korea has test launched more than 30 weapons so far this year, more than in any other single year.
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South Korean authorities said Wednesday's missiles were launched between 18:10 and 18:20 local time (09:10-09-20 GMT), and flew 360km (225 miles), reaching an altitude of 30km. Japan's coast guard also picked up the launch.
Earlier this month, North Korea passed a law declaring itself to be a nuclear weapons state. Leader Kim Jong-un vowed his country would never give up their weapons or engage in nuclear disarmament talks.
The law also allows the North to fire first, in a wide range of scenarios. Until recently it had always claimed its weapons were a deterrent, aimed at preventing a war.
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For months intelligence from the US and South Korea has suggested the North is ready to test a nuclear weapon but is waiting for the opportune political moment.
This would be its seventh nuclear test and its first for five years. Yesterday South Korea's spy agency told politicians that the nuclear test could happen between mid-October and early November, likely seizing on a window between the Chinese Party Congress and before the US mid-term elections.
South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol, who took office in May, has focused on strengthening South Korea's alliance with the United States to tackle the threat posed by North Korea.
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