Near yet far

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and US Vice President Kamala Harris shared their concern about North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.Yoon and Harris met for 85 minutes at the presidential office and discussed a wide range of issues, including ways to strengthen the bilateral relationship, and key regional and international issues.President Yoon and Vice President Harris expressed serious concern about North Korea’s recent ballistic missile launches and legalization of its nuclear force policy. The two sides also agreed to plan a visit by Yoon to the US next year to mark the 70th anniversary of the alliance.The his the Vice President’s Harris first visit to South Korea since taking office in January 2021. The last time a US Vice President visited South Korea was in February 2018, when Mike Pence led a delegation to the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games.Harris landed in Seoul just hours after North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea in apparent protest of an ongoing South Korea-US military exercise involving an American aircraft carrier. North had also conducted a similar short-range ballistic missile test recently