Senate committee chief expects Harris to seek Korean Peninsula denuclearization goal

The chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee anticipated Thursday that Vice President Kamala Harris would pursue the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula as a foreign policy goal should she win the White House in the Nov. 5 presidential election.

Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, a Democrat, made the remarks as questions have lingered over the omission of the denuclearization goal in the recently approved Democratic policy platform, which is expected to help set the tone for Harris' policy vision.

"That's always been our goal. We think they should be denuclearized," he said during a press briefing in Chicago, where the Democratic National Convention was in progress. "We believe that's an issue that has to be done."

Responding to a question over how Harris would handle growing North Korean threats, Cardin underscored the importance of security on the peninsula and China's role in addressing the North Korean challenge.

"The Korean Peninsula is critically important, and we believe it should be denuclearized. There shouldn't be nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula," he said.

"We would hope that the PRC would also be engaged with us in dealing with that challenge," he added, referring to China by its official name, the People's Republic of China.

The senator also highlighted ongoing security coordination between Seoul and Washington.

"We take a lot of our direction from South Korea as to their threat features and how we can make sure that we can answer North Korea's threats," he said.

"We recognize there's a lot of language that's being said. We watch the situation very carefully. We know North Korea presents a security challenge for the region, but also for the United States."

In a separate virtual press briefing, Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ), a Korean American congressman seeking a Senate seat in New Jersey, said that Harris backs America's "strong" leadership role in the world, while accusing former President Donald Trump of pushing for "neo-isolationism" or a "retreat of America from the global stage."

"Kamala Harris is for a strong American global leadership, someone who very much understands what's at stake right now," he said.

The omission of any references to denuclearization in the 2024 platform raised questions over whether it signals a potential policy focus shift or reflects North Korea's unwillingness to talk or other hurdles toward that goal.

Some observers said that the exclusion might reflect Washington's emphasis on doubling down on deterrence to counter North Korean threats following Pyongyang's repeated rejections for talks over a denuclearization deal.

The omission also raises concerns that Pyongyang could misconstrue it as an opening to seek US acknowledgment of the North as a de facto nuclear power and negotiations on arms control rather than on denuclearization -- an anathema to Seoul. (Yonhap)