US Vice President Mike Pence has met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo. During the meeting, Pence said Washington stood "shoulder to shoulder" with Japan in achieving the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

MIKE PENCE US VICE PRESIDENT "On behalf of President Trump, the United States is with you in this challenge. And we will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Japan, the people of South Korea and our allies and partners across the region until we achieve the global objective of the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula and we end the provocations and threats that North Korea has presented to this region and to the wider world."

The US Vice President also said Washington would soon unveil its "toughest sanctions ever" on the DPRK. Japan is the start of Pence's Asia tour. He will head to South Korea Thursday, where he will meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and attend the opening of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics Friday night.