US vice-president to visit Greenland amid backlash

LOS ANGELES -- US Vice-President JD Vance said on Tuesday that he will travel to Greenland this Friday.

In a video posted on social media platform X, Vance said he will visit some of US guardians in the Space Force on the northwest coast of Greenland, and also check out what is going on with the security of Greenland.

"A lot of other countries have threatened Greenland ... have threatened to use its territories and its waterways to threaten the United States, to threaten Canada, and of course to threaten the people of Greenland. So we're going to check out how things are going there," Vance said in the video post.

"Unfortunately, leaders in both America and in Denmark ignored Greenland for far too long. That's been bad for Greenland. It's also been bad for the security of the entire world. We think we can take things in a different direction, so I'm gonna go check it out," he said.

Vance will be joining his wife, Usha Vance, who announced earlier to travel to Greenland this week. US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright also plan to visit Greenland.

White House National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes said Monday that the United States has a "vested security interest in the Arctic region."

Greenland's politicians have condemned the plan for US high-profile visits, calling it "a demonstration of power."