AFP
US Vice President Kamala Harris will visit the demilitarized zone that divides the Korean peninsula during her visit to South Korea on Thursday, the White House announced.

A White House official said the visit showed "the United States' commitment to stand by (South Korea) in the face of any threats" emanating from North Korea.

He added that Harris would "honor the common sacrifices" of American and Korean soldiers killed in the Korean War, which ended with a ceasefire that cemented the division of the peninsula nearly 70 years ago in 1953.

On Tuesday, Harris will attend the funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo.

A visit to the demilitarized zone may anger North Korea, which described US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as "the worst destroyer of international peace and stability" after her visit to this region in early August.

Pyongyang also warned Monday that Korea and the United States could cause war after the two allies began their first joint naval exercises in five years near the Korean peninsula.

In Tokyo, on Monday, Harris held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and also met with South Korean Prime Minister Han Dak-soo on Tuesday. The latter considered that her visit to the demilitarized zone "shows with great symbolism the strong commitment of the United States to security and peace on the Korean Peninsula."

In recent months, North Korea has conducted an unprecedented series of weapons tests while negotiations with the international community over its nuclear and ballistic programs have stalled.

And Pyongyang, especially in May, launched an intercontinental ballistic missile, the first since 2017, and approved in early September a new doctrine confirming that the country will never give up nuclear weapons.

South Korean and US officials have been warning for months that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is preparing a new nuclear test.