United States House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited South Korea on her Asia tour, which also saw her making a stop in Taiwan despite the same not being mentioned in her official itinerary. Pelosi, along with her Japanese counterpart, released a joint statement which said that the two countries will work together in deterring North Korea, and will also try to achieve denuclearisation of the Kim Jong-un-led country. Both speakers expressed concerns regarding the increasing military power of North Korea.

The joint statement read, “We agreed to support the efforts of the two governments to achieve practical denuclearisation and peace through international cooperation and diplomatic dialogue, based on the strong and extended deterrence against the North”.

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Moreover, issues pertaining to economic activities, climate, and regional security were also discussed. The 83-year-old Pelosi is reportedly set to visit the demilitarized zone (DMZ) at the border of South and North Korea. This was also the place where former President Donald Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol praised Pelosi’s planned visit to Seoul, saying that it shows solid deterrence against North Korea.

Pelosi landed in Seoul on Wednesday where she met officials of the US Embassy, and on Thursday proceeded to meet South Korean politicians. 

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In an interesting turn of events, China has recently cancelled a scheduled meeting with Japan in Cambodia where representatives of both sides were present to attend the ASEAN event currently ongoing in the country, post the G7 countries’ issuing of a joint statement where they urged China to handle the situation peacefully and also criticized its military drills and economic sanctions against Taiwan. 

In response, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said, “The Chinese side is strongly displeased with the joint statement put out by the group of seven nations about Taiwan”.