Kamala Harris’ gaffe at the DMZ: Touts strong relationship with Republic of North Korea

US Vice President Kamala Harris mistakenly touted her country’s ‘alliance with the Republic of North Korea’ standing on the Souh Korean side of the Demilitarized Zone. 

“The United States shares a very important relationship, which is an alliance with the Republic of North Korea,” VP Harris said intending to mean South Korea as she sought to reaffirm America’s continued support and security of its Asian allies. She continued, “It is an alliance that is strong and enduring.”

VP Harris did not correct herself at the time, instead choosing to point out America’s “ironclad” commitment to defending South Korea. Prior to her arrival, North Korea launched a series of short-to-medium range ballistic missiles into the East Sea which prompted condemnation from South Korea and Japan. 

The 57-year-old had met with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeo on Thursday to reiterate that the two countries were “aligned on this issue.”

A day earlier in Washington D.C. President Joe Biden made a similar gaffe during a speech when he asked if the late Rep. Jackie Walorski (Republican-Indiana) was in attendance. The former Indiana representative had died in a car crash in August this year.

During her speech, VP Harris said that the DMZ was a reminder of the “dramatically different path” that the two countries had taken after reunification attempts in 1948 failed. Referencing South Korea, she said that the country was a thriving democracy which was seeing innovation, economic prosperity and projected strength, while North Korea is a “brutal dictatorship, rampant human rights violations and an unlawful weapons program that threatens peace and stability.”

Hours after VP Harris’ departure, North Korea launched two more missiles into the sea, making it the dictatorship’s third launch of the week. Experts speculate that North Korea is preparing to conduct its seventh nuclear test, as early as October.