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Transcript/ScriptUS-Japan/SKorea
HEADLINE: VP Harris to Visit Korean DMZ at End of 5-Day Asia Trip
TEASER: The vice president will be highest-profile American to visit tense Korean demilitarized zone in three years
PUBLISHED AT: Tuesday, 9/27/22 at 11:03pm
BYLINE: Anita Powell and Bill Gallo
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: the White House
VIDEOGRAPHER: AP, AFP, Zoom
VIDEO EDITOR:
SCRIPT EDITORS: Bowman, Holly Franko, TD
VIDEO SOURCE (S): AP, AFP, ZOOM
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __
TRT: 2:54
VID APPROVED BY: wpm
TYPE:
EDITOR NOTES: Producers, I put ALL of the footage – the library Broll and also my interview, in this folder: https://app.frame.io/projects/ae30dd8f-b6c4-418a-b02d-530603115a58/de90da1a-1a75-40a7-97d2-2ec57443753b))
((INTRO:)) [[U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will visit the Demilitarized Zone dividing South and North Korea, White House officials said Tuesday – making hers the highest-profile visit to the DMZ by an American official in three years. Harris is spending most of this week in South Korea and Japan — two East Asian nations the Biden administration sees as key allies in the region as China grows bolder. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from the White House, with reporting from Seoul bureau chief Bill Gallo, in Tokyo.]]
((NARRATOR))
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris paid her respects Tuesday to assassinated former Japanese leader Shinzo Abe,
but also used her time in the region to stress how the U.S. values Japan and South Korea as strong allies in the face of an emboldened China.
((Kamala Harris, US Vice President))
"The alliance between Japan and the United States is a cornerstone of what we believe is integral to peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. And this is
something we prioritize because we also believe it is in the best interest of the American people in terms of their security and prosperity and we do believe the same for Japanese people."
((NARRATOR))
Harris plans to underscore the U.S. commitment to the region by visiting, on Thursday, the Demilitarized Zone that divides South Korea from its isolated neighbor.
That makes her the highest-profile U.S. visitor to the zone since former president Donald Trump, who went in 2019.
The pariah state accuses the U.S. of provocation.
((Kim Song, North Korea's Ambassador to the United Nations)) ((in Korean, need English VO))))
"The United States compelled the DPRK to adopt a law on the policy of nuclear forces in defiance of the U.S. hostility. The United States should clearly understand that its heinous and hostile policy against the DPRK over the past 30 years had just brought about today's reality.”
((NARRATOR))
Analysts say that North Korea clearly dislikes the closeness between the U.S. and South Korea.
[[Radio: Chris Johnstone is Japan chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He spoke to VOA via Zoom]]
((Chris Johnstone, Center for Strategic and International Studies)) ((Zoom))
“North Korea has expressed displeasure about this and in a way that only they can. There was another ballistic missile test that they conducted over the weekend, and it's widely expected that they will conduct another nuclear test in the weeks ahead, this fall.”
((NARRATOR))
Analysts say they don’t anticipate any policy announcements from this trip, which included sit-downs with the leaders of South Korea and Australia. But Johnstone says the vice president goes to Asia with a mission.
((Chris Johnstone, Center for Strategic and International Studies)) ((Zoom))
“I think one of her main purposes is to quietly encourage both Prime Minister Kishida and President Yoon [Suk-yeol] to try to make progress in this relationship because I think solidarity between the United States, South Korea and Japan on key issues in the region really sends a powerful message.”
((NARRATOR))
She may be bringing other messages, too. In a video previewing the visit, analyst Shihoko Goto noted that Harris, the first American woman to serve as vice president, is breaking some new ground in a traditionally conservative space.
[[Radio: Shihoko Goto is Deputy Director of the Asia Program at the Wilson Center.]]
((Shihoko Goto, Wilson Center)) ((courtesy Wilson Center))
“The White House is calling it ‘a meeting with groundbreaking Korean women.’ And so this is really an opportunity to focus on an issue that is close to Harris’ own political interests, which is female empowerment.”
((NARRATOR))
It is delicate, difficult and diplomatic work — and this is just the beginning. Harris’ trip takes her Thursday to the sharp edge of a continuing, simmering Korean conflict, just 38 kilometers from Pyongyang.
((Anita Powell, VOA News, the White House))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)the White House
Embargo DateSeptember 27, 2022 23:40 EDT
Byline((Anita Powell, VOA News, the White House))
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
